


Doctor Who Christmas Special

by Sonfluwer



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018), Community (TV), Doctor Who
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 100,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28329582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sonfluwer/pseuds/Sonfluwer
Summary: Two fans of Doctor Who find themselves struggling with reality when the Doctor arrives in their living room. Things get stranger when a time fissure brings them face to face with the other incarnation and their companions. They are all whisked to Greendale to face an unknown threat that forces the Doctor to use the Chameleon Arch. Can the two fans save the day? Fine out.
Relationships: Nicholas Scratch (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)/Original Female Character(s), Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I made this as a Christmas present for my best friend yet upon finishing we both thought it was worth sharing. I used us in the story but essential you can insert yourself and your best friend instead of us. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter One:

The Air B&B was unlike any Air B&B that had been rented before. It was in a cul-de-sac of expensive houses though it was clear this one was the prize. It was two stories and very high up. On the first level elegantly barred doors allowed you to see through to the pool area and beyond to the back port that lead to the waterway. A garage promised to stretch in deep and it could be assumed that a nice studio apartment nestled on the other side of that. It was dark gray with a roll of steps that lead right up to a bright yellow door and windows that stretched like wide eyes to invite anyone that pulled up.  
Inside it was a masterpiece. The house was built in a U shape of white curved walls with brilliantly accented décor and doors that lead to the massive lanai protecting the pool and backyard from Florida bugs and Florida weather. To the right of the entrance was the formal dining room filled with boxes and scattered technology and beyond that rested the show living room for guests. It held large ceilings and a fireplace in the center of the room separating it from the actual living room with blankets and noise from TV shows being watched.  
Beside that was the kitchen with heavenly skylights leading to a far less formal dining area and a terrace to look out to the water.  
Everything was windows and white walls that bounced the light to every corner of the home even in the middle of the night. It was beautiful. And it was very much in use.  
“Do you need anything while I’m up?”  
“No, I’m fine!”  
“Are you sure? Some milk?”  
There was a pause, “Yeah…maybe some milk.”  
“Coming right up!”  
It took only a minute for Alexys to return with the glass of milk and a can of Coke. She offered the glass to Alex who thanked her while she nestled into her side of the sofa, cracking open the can as she did. From behind them came a blur of golden retriever that sat at Alexys’ side waiting for a specific invitation.  
“Hicks, up!” she smiled, patting the space between her and Alex.  
Alex adjusted himself to make space for the dog on the couch while looking to the TV, “What do you want to watch?”  
“I’m up for anything,” Alexys looked to the dog again with an insistent and polite tone, “Hicks, come on, up.”  
The dog looked between the two nervously.  
Alex sighed, using a tone that often got Hicks to believe the invitation was genuinely for her, “Hicks, come on. Up.”  
The dog leaped into action and found her way between the two. She rustled around until she was comfortable with her body draped over Alexys then dropped down with a sigh. Both Alexys and Alex laughed to themselves at the display of absolute comfort, commenting on the mannerisms of the dog.  
“We’ve got Doctor Who, Sherlock, Scientology Documentary,” Alex listed off some things before grabbing the mouthpiece of his hookah and inhaling.  
Alexys looked to the TV screen with the urge to say Doctor Who but decided instead to muscle through the hour and lifetime long episode of Sherlock they had begun at the last Air B&B, “Why don’t we finish Sherlock?”  
Alex was pleased with the thought. He had already finished seeing it but recommended it to the friend at his side with hopes that she would enjoy it too. There was an understanding that she wasn’t too big a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch but her opinions of Martin Freeman were very high. He put the show on using the app on his phone before switching to his game of Choices. At his side Alexys also pulled up her phone to complete her Choices game.  
A gasp escaped the left side of the couch.  
“What’s wrong?” Alex lifted a brow with concern.  
With mock tears but still some genuine emotion Alexys replied, “I didn’t know the game would get so real.”  
He chuckled and looked forward to the screen, “Oh, this is a really interesting part.”  
Alexys took the cue to pay attention, locking her phone as she did.  
The two continued that way, only getting up to refill their drinks or grab a snack or to pack another one of Alex’s bowls. It was a blissfully calm evening that demanded no exertion of energy. Hicks came and left as she pleased but she never ventured too far from the living room where the two enjoyed their night.  
“I’m gonna take her O-U-T,” Alexys jumped to her feet at the end of the episode with need of a good stretch and a desire to make sure Hicks was taken care of before.  
“Are you sure? I can go,” Alex offered, feeling pangs of guilt that his friend was going through the effort.  
Alexys nodded, turning on the light as she walked out, “Don’t worry. I’ve got it.”  
They smiled their parting while Alex remained where he was. His eyes drifted through his phone between text messages, updates on fantasy football, updates on important news articles, and the games he had. He was as content as he could possibly be in a room alone with a promise that a friend would return. But there was something pulling at him.  
Truth be told, there was always something pulling at him. He suffered but hid it as deep as he possibly could. He took the necessary steps with therapy, group therapy, had even gone to an inpatient facility—where he met Alexys—but there seemed to be a pain that would never loosen up and whenever he found peace there was almost always a bomb dropping in his life that promised there was no peace to be had. He was in pain. He was in genuine pain and the pleasure of company only fought it back so much.  
But none of that was at the forefront of his mind though it did linger tentacles around his thoughts. The forefront of his mind was that something odd was bothering him. An uncharacteristic anxiety took over. It wasn’t that anxiety was uncharacteristic (oh no, he came from a family that carried it in their stomach) it was the form of this one, the weight of this one, the way it presented. He wondered if Alexys could tell there was something so off not even the Green Dream could deafen it.  
Alexys walked in with a smile as she took her seat again.  
She had the anxiety too. But she chalked it up to the random bursts she felt throughout her life. It wasn’t uncommon and the uncommonness of it was not uncommon either. She took a sip of her Cola and hoped that it would pass but a glance toward Alex made her curious. Could he feel it too?  
“Do you want to keep watching Sherlock? Or?”  
“Uhhh…hmmm. I’m not sure,” she answered, again feeling as though she should pick Doctor Who but something stopped her.  
“What are you feeling? Are you hungry?” Alex asked, not hungry himself but knowing it was around eating time and wanting to make sure his friend was taken care of.  
“Hmmm…yeah. I guess I could eat,” Alexys answered, not exactly hungry herself but knowing that it was around eating time and wanting to make sure her friend was taken care of too.  
“What are you in the mood for?” Alex pulled his phone from the arm of the sofa as he pulled up UberEats or any of its competitors.  
“I don’t know,” there was a flicker of light, “Did you see that?”  
“Yeah, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Alex spoke, scrolling through the app, “Do you want Mexican, Pizza, want to try Sonics?”  
“It’s really bright,” Alexys squinted against the brightness, “I forgot to turn off the light.”  
“It’s fine,” Alex offered her the phone, “You can pick something—”  
Alexys had gone stiff. Her eyes focused on the left side of the room at the space between where the small one-seater and TV sat. Her face was scrunched in concentration, eyes narrowed.  
“Are you okay?” Alex was frightened. Alexys had been known for spirituality and an uncanniness about her that could be explained as eccentric. She liked tarot cards, she liked crystals and gems, she liked the odd and often had odd dreams. Alex had had his own experiences—still unsure if it could be labeled as supernatural or delusional—but if anyone were going to see anything odd it would the woman at his side.  
“Yeah…it’s just. Do you feel that?”  
Perhaps he did. There was a strange quiet from everything around and yet there was loudness. Almost like two plastic bags wrestling against each other except only on volume one. But the sound travelled. It travelled through the ears and through the eyes and through the mouth inside the body like little bursts of static electricity running up the arms and into the collarbones. It was strange.  
“Alex…” Alexys’ voice dropped down to nearly a whisper, “Do you hear that?”  
VWORP, VWORP, VWORP.  
Their hands jumped at each other as they leapt to the center of the couch in hope and terror.  
At the left hand side of the living room faded into view an old blue police box. It was very boxy, very square, an old worn out blue like faded jeans. It looked as if it had been through stuff but more like recovering from going through stuff.  
The two on the couch were silent. They were absolutely silent with their mouths agape and eyes the size of saucers. They grabbed onto each other’s hands as both went through their internal inventory of possibilities.  
Alexys considered if she had possibly taken any sort of LSD though she knew she couldn’t have because the only mind altering substance she had was like one hit off of Alex’s hookah the other night but possibly the water that came from the reservoir had been tampered with and suddenly she and the rest of Pasco County were going to be hallucinating an entire wave of cool alien invasions—she had written a story like that. Alex went through his mind to calculate what medication, if any, he had taken that day and could it be possible that he took more than he thought, was it a bad strain of Green Dream and if so how was it affecting him this badly, but worst of all he was allowing himself to believe that one of his greatest fears was coming true: he was losing it and he was coming to the delusion part that came with it.  
But he looked to Alexys and she could see it too. How could it be a shared delusion?  
The door creaked open and they jumped again.  
Who would come out?  
Alexys had her suspicions, Alex had his hopes, Hicks had her bone.  
“Oh, this is fantastic!”  
Alexys screamed a high pitched joy as the Ninth incarnation of the Doctor emerged with his long leather coat and bright blue eyes. Alex also made a noise of joy but more to the satisfaction that it was the Doctor yet not with satisfaction toward which one. Hicks jumped up from her place and trotted to the man with her pink blanket in mouth and tail wagging.  
“Hello, Hicks! Good to see ya, been keepin’ busy?” the tall man asked as he lowered himself to pet the golden retriever.  
Hicks whined in a display of remembrance and desire for affection as if she had never been shown affection before. If Alex wasn’t so stunned by the arrival of the Doctor—regardless of incarnation—he would have made a comment as such. But he and Alexys were both in complete silence as they looked to the man in the black leather coat. Their eyes drifted to the TV screen every now and then as if to search for Doctor Who the show to confirm what was occurring.  
“You,” he motioned to Alexys with a wicked smirk, “You’re comin’ with me.”  
“Yes!” she squeaked before jumping to her feet but she stopped in mid-step to look back at Alex, “I…I can’t go without my best friend.”  
“I don’t need him now, I need you.”  
Alexys visibly melted but regained her new found composure, “This is my best friend though. My best best friend. I can’t just leave to traverse the skies without him.”  
The Doctor took her hand immediately quelling any other word of resistance she might have offered, “I’ll be back for him later, I promise.”  
“Go!” Alex urged, thinking to himself realistically that he could use the time—however long—to prepare for his own exodus from Earth, “Have fun! Come back for me!”  
“Are you sure?” guilt riddled her entirely at the thought of leaving with one of Alex’s favorite heroes: the Doctor.  
“Yes!”  
She ran back and gave him a hug before pausing to look into his eyes, “I’ll be back for you. I swear and I don’t swear.”  
“I know,” he smiled and extended his right toward her while placing his left against his chest.  
She grinned and followed suit and the both slapped their hands and chest twice in sync.  
Alexys ran off, jumping into the Tardis with an overdramatic exclaim, “It is bigger on the inside!”  
“I’ll show you something else that’s bigger.”  
The door shut and the VWORP, VWORP, VWORP signaled the retreat of the blue box and the blue moon princess. Alex gave a head tilt at the connection wondering if perhaps her instagram handle had confused some distant moon race of the future into believing that she was the rightful heir to their thrown. She would love that.  
He let out a deep breath as he sat back down on the sofa. If this was a delusion it had to be strong because it affected everything—sight, smell, touch, hearing, he could even taste a faint hint of boiled cabbage in the air—and now Alexys was gone. Alex calmed himself a moment then jumped to his feet deciding if this were the way to go then he would go in head first. He shut off the TV then walked toward the hallway but that feeling came over him again.  
Alexys probably could have felt it a while before but suddenly it was there and he steeled himself for disappointment but suddenly the sound came VWORP, VWORP, VWORP and a slightly newer, slightly bluer Tardis arrived at the right side of the room. Alex was frozen with possibility as the door opened.  
“You! Where do you think you’re going! It’s my turn with you!”  
Alex wasted no time with the summoning of the Eleventh Doctor and his wily grin. He rushed to the Tardis with no need for explanation. Excitement colored his eyes as the tall Doctor with his bowtie and hair dropped his hands on his shoulders, then the sides of his face for a deep kiss to the forehead. Alex shuddered.  
“I had no clue how much I would miss you, Alexander,” the Doctor spoke with tenderness Alex was not prepared for.  
“Well then next time don’t keep me waiting!” he teased, wrapping his arms for an embrace around the Doctor.  
“Now, by my calculations this should be the first time we have met,” Eleven mused returning the embrace, “Yet you seem to find me very familiar.”  
Alex looked from side to side before pulling back and admitting, “I’m just leaning into it.”  
The Doctor laughed, “So adaptable. Now let’s go, don’t forget your glasses or the dog or…is that a…Is that a hookah?”  
The screwdriver was out pointed toward what Alex had dubbed Odysseus, “Would you like me to bring it?”  
“No, no,” he gasped, reading the findings with a laugh then looking to Alex, “You cheeky boy.”  
“Would you like me to bring it?” Alex repeated his question with a grin, pondering the possibility of getting high with the Doctor.  
He seemed to consider it then shook his head, “No, no, we’ve got things to do, places to see, people to meet. Let’s go! Let’s go!”  
Alex rushed into the Tardis as the Doctor closed the door, exclaiming all the things they had to do without giving any detail.  
Hicks sat looking toward the Tardis with blanket in mouth.  
There was silence.  
The door opened once more and Hicks trotted her way inside as Alex exclaimed in the same overdramatic tone as Alexys, “It is bigger on the inside!”  
The Tardis left in a VWORP, VWORP, VWORP of noise leaving the Air B&B on its own in emptiness with only the reminder that it had once been occupied.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Five Minutes Later…

VWORP, VWORP, VWORP.

At the left side of the room the door to the Tardis flew open partway through materializing despite a shout from the Doctor, “You can’t do that!”

“You promised me Paris. I can do whatever I want!” Alexys shouted trying to get through the door in her very formal 1880s Parisian attire.

“It’s not my fault the Chelonian’s were there trying to destroy the planet! What was I supposed to do? Bugger off with the new bride?” The Doctor opened the other door to allow her to walk through effectively.

“It was supposed to be our honeymoon!” she huffed looking back at him.

“We had our honeymoon on Midnight! Or did you forget the Sapphire Waterfall?” he gave her pointed looks that turned her cheeks crimson.

“We got _married_ on Midnight at the Sapphire Waterfall. That was _not_ the honeymoon!”

“Sure felt like one to me,” he smirked.

Her eyes grew wide as she began to hit him with light fists that didn’t really hurt though he pretended to shout “Ow, ow! Ooooow!” When Alexys tired herself out she looked into the living room with excitement, squinting at the glare of the TV, “Alex! I have ne…Alex? Hicks? Hello! What time is it? Are we back at the right time?”

“Of course we are. Just because something is _different_ doesn’t mean it’s my fault,” he huffed.

She looked back to him with a little smile, “Well…how ‘bout I punish you anyway?”

His eyes grew wide before letting out a cough, “Well…I’d…I mean…then I’d have to lock you up on a volcano planet.”

“No, no, no,” she grinned, “I’m not going in any volcanoes anymore.”

The two scampered inside, shutting the doors behind them.

VWORP, VWORP, VWORP.

Just as the Tardis of the Ninth Doctor faded away the Tardis of the Eleventh Doctor arrived toward the far right side of the room. Alex emerged wearing the traditional garb of a Senator of Rome. Hicks ran out past him as he shook his head in disbelief, “I can’t believe Livia was an _alien_ the whole time?”

The Doctor came out after him, “Not just an alien but the _QUEEN_ of the Universe as she dubbed herself. What I can’t believe is you let her get away!”

“She’s the love of my life!” Alex huffed despite the grimace from the Doctor, “I couldn’t hurt her or stand by. Especially after the WILD first date we shared. I’ll always remember our time together.”

The Doctor pulled Alex’s arm and lifted the sleeve of his tunic to reveal a healing slash above his elbow, “She stabbed you!”

Alex gripped his arm, throwing his head back in delight as he sang, “Memories!”

“I’ll let Hicks out, might want to turn down the telly while you’re at it. That _is_ bright,” he mentioned as he walked out of the living room.

Alex moved for the remote but noticed the couch that was empty. In that time it must have been five minutes to pass but it already felt like five lifetimes. He had so much he had to tell Alexys, so much to tell his parents, so much to tell…his therapist! For the first time in his life he felt…happy? No…he had felt happy before! But the nagging pain had been dulled tremendously and he had to share the news.

“Alexys!” Alex called out, excitedly, happily, “Alexys!”

There was no answer except for Hicks returning ahead of the Doctor with the bag of dog food they had returned to acquire. He walked to the Tardis, calling back to Alex, “Shall we get on then? I see you still didn’t turn down the television.”

Alex had a brief memory of himself turning off the TV before leaving and paused to grab the remote but Hicks’ incessant whining and barking distracted him long enough to return to the Tardis. It left again in its fashion of noise and absence only for the Ninth Doctor’s Tardis to emerge opposite of it. Alexys stumbled out with giggles as she blew kisses and waved goodbye. She shut the door but forcefully opened it once with a shout, “Half an hour! Don’t forget half an hour!”

“I’ll be here!” boomed the Doctor’s voice in return.

She shut the door once more and walked to the couch where she plopped down and took a drink from the Cola that was still waiting for her. Exhaustion wrapped its finger around Alexys despite the brightness of the television and she shut her eyes for just a moment. The only thing to wake her was the VWORP, VWORP, VWORP of the Tardis but when she looked to the left of the room it was empty. It wasn’t until she turned to the right to see Alex emerging from a different Tardis of a slightly newer and slightly bluer fashion.

“Shut the front door!” she yelled as Alex walked out in a beautifully tailored tuxedo and his hair slicked in a proper hairstyle of a gentleman. “Alex!”

“That is _Sir_ Alexander Garnick of Vienna to you,” he smirked in a formal manner before completely breaking and collapsing on the couch with her as the Tardis vanished, “Where have you been!”

“Where have you been!”

“Where have _you_ been,” Alex motioned toward her apparel that could only be categorized as…futuristic.

“Forget that, check this out!” she shoved her left hand toward him to revel a diamond ring that was perfectly sculpted for Alexys. A simple band with a small rock that definitely did not look like it came from Earth.

“Wait…you’re married? To…the Doctor?” he turned ashen.

“Don’t worry, I told him it’s an immediate divorce once he regenerates,” Alexys grinned.

Alex let out a sigh but stopped midway to look at his friend, “What is happening right now?”

She shook her head, “I don’t know but I’m going with it.”

“Is this real? Is this honestly real?” Alex for the first time had some space to consider what had been occurring for the past…months?

“It feels real. The clothes are real. The people are real. I mean…look at what I’m wearing? Look at what you’re wearing. We didn’t have this here before we left. This has to be real…” Alexys looked to her phone that was sitting on the coffee table, “But I have another test. I’ll facetime Sam and you facetime Lisa. If they can see what we’re wearing then…it has to be real right?”

“I guess that’s…true.”

They grabbed their phones and began the ringing of the facetime call. Sam answered at once, “Hey, Lo, what’s up?”

“Hey, nothing. Just chillin’ here with Alex. What are you guys up to?” Alexys did nothing to tip off her sister anything odd was occurring and made no mention of her outfit.

“We’re here ju…you look different. Wait…what are you _wearing_? Are you having another photo shoot or something?” Sam began in excited tones.

Alexys figured she’d leave it at that, “Yeah, haha, well. I love you so much!”

“I love you too, weird,” she muttered

The two hung up while Alex had not yet reached Lisa though just seeming himself through the eye of the iPhone seemed to persuade him enough into believing it was real. He looked to Alexys, “I gotta tell you, if this is a delusion then it’s a damn good one and I’m leaning in.”

“Me too!” Alexys screamed. “Tell me everything that happened after I left.”

“Well, I got up to pack a bag and as I did that’s when the Eleventh Doctor appeared.”

She grimaced.

“I wouldn’t talk. You married the _Ninth_ Doctor,” Alex teased.

“That’s my husband!”

They laughed as Alex continued, “Yeah well, the Eleventh Doctor showed up and he was strangely…”

“Affectionate?” Alexys finished.

He shook his head, “Intimate.”

Alexys shuddered.

“Really though. He said ‘I had no clue how much I’d miss you, Alexander.’ And then went on to say that by his calculations this would be the first time we met…He knows things about me, things that I like, my preferences. We definitely have met before,” Alex sighed.

“It’s the same here. He cuts himself off before saying anything too detailed but there are moments, big moments, we’ve had leading up to us being married. I mean. It’s the Doctor…he asked _me_ to marry him,” Alexys looked down at her ring happily.

“So did you guys…”

“Yes!”

Alex screamed in happiness for her, “Tell me all the details.”

“Wait…did you two?” she looked between Alex and the empty space where the Tardis would be.

A blush crept over his features before he straightened himself, “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“AHHHH!” she screamed with happiness, “How! When! Where!”

“It was Rome, everyone was doing it! But that doesn’t change the fact that he took me to a beautiful open field under the stars and the fact that we’ve done it _many_ times since,” Alex gushed.

“Ahhhhh! Wait…Rome…did you meet…” she trailed off, not needing to go further.

Alex became serious once again before nodding, “I met Livia.”

“The love of your life!” she screamed, “What was she like?”

“The Queen of the Universe with aspirations big enough to threaten time as we know it,” Alex spoke in one huff, “The Judoon came to take her away but I helped her escape.”

“Alex!”

“She’s the love of my life,” he sighed before pointing to his arm, “She stabbed me but not before professing her undying love for me.”

“How romantic,” Alexys shook her head, “Wait…the Judoon. Okay…so you still have knowledge of the show, right?”

He nodded, “Yeah, everything we’ve seen has happened I think until he meets Clara or…maybe sometime a little before?”

“Yeah…it seems I’m somewhere in between his last regeneration and meeting Rose,” Alexys went through her mind with all the situations that lead her to such a conclusion, “I feel at a disadvantage but it’s not? We’ve run into creatures that have been on the show, we’ve gone to places that have been on the show, and he brings up the time war with such guilt and I don’t know how to tell him that it’s for nothing!”

“You _don’t_ tell him that it’s for nothing. I don’t know what’s going on but I think we should err on the side of caution and not mention anything we know that hasn’t happened yet and we definitely should not mention that they are a show,” Alex sighed before looking back to his Hookah, “Oh, thank God.”

Alexys laughed as she got up from the couch, “I take it you haven’t had a chance to try space bud?”

“Oh I have…and it knocked me out for a week sooooooo I’m happy to have my Earth strains!” he chuckled before taking a hit from the Hookah.

“I can’t wait to hear but first I have to _use the bathroom_ and I’m going to pack my bag too! That was a great idea!” Alexys ran to the other side of the Air B&B.

“Oh right, I’ll get on that,” Alex jumped to his feet with the intention of doing the same thing.

VWORP, VWORP, VWORP.

“Every damn time,” Alex mumbled to himself as the Tardis on the right side appeared.

“Are you all done here, did you find Alexys?” the Eleventh Doctor questioned as he stuck his head out wearing a fez. “Come on, I’ve got James Berry, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, and Oscar Wilde waiting for you at a Shisha Bar in Morocco.”

“What! We’re coming! I’ll call her,” Alex stepped into the hall and shouted her name in a way that it would vibrate across the walls to get her attention.

“I’ll be right there!” she called back.

VWORP, VWORP, VWORP.

“I know I said half an hour but I got bo—”

Absolute silence.

Alex was stunned as he looked at the two Doctors looking at one another. A harmony of the same person in two different voices began to shout, “Who are you? Is that my? How’d you? Ohhh…”

The Eleventh Doctor touched his own face and pulled on his own ears, “Did I really look…like that?”

The Ninth Doctor ran his hands through his hair then grabbed at his chin, “Do I really end up…like that?”

Alexys skipped into the living room wearing a tie dye shirt and leggings only to stop with a gasp, “Wait…if you’re here and you’re here that means something like…”

The brightness from the TV roared to reveal that it wasn’t the TV at all but a growing crack in the shape of a twisted smiling face. The Eleventh Doctor grabbed for Alex as the Ninth Doctor grabbed for Alexys and they shouted together, “No, no, no not good not good!”

“Wait! Alex! Grab my hand”

“Alexys!”

She shimmied out of the hold and reached across the space as Alex did the same. The Doctors grabbed onto their respective companions but the jostle of motion was enough for Alexys to grab Alex’s fingers and as she did a burst of light exploded from their hands that seemed to be swallowed by the crack and once it did the crack shrunk to merely a smirk. The two hugged each other then everyone looked to Alexys in surprise.

“What…how did you?”

“Well, typically to close the crack it needs to consume a complicated space-time event and I figured the Blinovitch Limitation Effect might be enough to stall it,” Alexys beamed. She looked to Alex with a whisper, “I may have read up on some stuff in the Doctor Who fan wiki.”

He nodded in understanding but the Eleventh Doctor narrowed his eyes on Alexys, “How do you know about the cracks?”

“How do you know about the Blinovitch Limitation Effect?” the Ninth Doctor narrowed his own eyes.

“I…uh…guessed?” her voice turned into a squeak but before they could turn their minds onto her she looked to the Eleventh Doctor, “The real question is what is _he_ doing here?”

“What _are_ you doing here?” the Ninth Doctor snapped, “You’re violating the First Law of Time!”

“I’m not doing anything,” the Eleventh Doctor snapped right back, “You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“You aren’t supposed to be here!” he shouted right back.

As they shouted Alexys felt a strangeness in the air once more. She looked behind her to the crack but saw it was relatively dormant but when she looked up ahead her breath was caught. She motioned toward Alex to look up and he gasped too.

“Uhhh…Doctor…”

They both shouted, “What!”

Alex motioned up, “Look.”

Their eyes scanned upward and gasped as they took a protective step before their companions. Coming from the ceiling and through the fireplace was a swirling, motion of time and space and air like a tentacle aiming right for them. The two Doctors shared undecipherable complaints as they motioned toward each other with blame.

“What is it!” Alexys shouted.

“Oh, you don’t know?” The Ninth Doctor mocked. She stuck her tongue out at him.

“I know this…I vaguely remember this,” the Eleventh Doctor mused.

“It’s a Time Fissure,” the Ninth Doctor looked between Alex and Alexys then rolled his eyes when he realized he needed to explain, “It happens all the time, minor ones usually. It’s a weakness in time and space like the web of time untangling. Big ones like this need seeing too but typically they resolve on their own.”

“Oh…it’s really coming back to me now…” the Eleventh Doctor mumbled to himself, pulling the fez from his head.

Alex and Alexys looked to each other with huge eyes as their memories returned with seeing the Doctor looking into the time fissure with the fez in hand.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the Ninth Doctor snapped.

The Eleventh Doctor threw the fez into the time fissure with a grin, “Oh…this is where we _all_ come in.”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

With the toss of the fez the time fissure grew and expanded until they were all sucked in as if by a tornado. The Doctors tried to grab onto their respective companions but only the flimsiest of touches could be managed until they were suddenly dropped onto a hard surface against each other. Head bounced off of elbow bounced off of knee bounced off of ground in loud rumbles of displeasure and pain.

“Come on, come on,” the Ninth Doctor mumbled as he helped Alexys to her feet.

Alexys turned back to see the Eleventh Doctor and Alex getting themselves in order with a bit of blush and flirtation. They looked around and found themselves in a white room that was more than a white room. It was a white eternity. Endless white continued in all directions and Alexys thought to herself it was something close to the Janet Void though she knew no one around her had watched the Good Place enough to know what that was. Everything was all straight lines of white except for the very obviously blue box with the very obviously amused man and woman standing in front of it.

“So, you took the scenic route.”

Alex and Alexys grabbed at each other in shock as they looked to the Tenth Doctor standing with Rose Tyler at his side. They spoke to each other in excited noises of half understandable gibberish, “Rose Tyler, Rose Tyler, Rose Tyler!”

“Sorry about them, their…” the Eleventh Doctor looked to the two then back toward the Tenth, “American. Are you the reason we…Rose Tyler?”

The Ninth Doctor questioned, “Rose Tyler?”

“Doctor?” she wondered out loud.

The Tenth motioned toward the Ninth, “We haven’t met you yet and we,” he motioned toward the Eleventh, “are very pleased to see you.”

She stared in surprise as she looked over the Eleventh Doctor then back to the Ninth with a tinge of hurt before settling her eyes on Alex and Alexys, “And who are they?”

The Tenth Doctor brought out his screwdriver to scan them, “They…are in the wrong universe. They are in the wrong time.”

“Hold on now,” The Ninth Doctor stepped before Alexys protectively, “Wrong Universe, wrong time? Who are you?”

“I’m you,” he answered with a little smile before extending his hand, “Welcome to the present.”

“You mean the past,” The Eleventh Doctor mumbled grasping the fez that Rose Tyler held before placing it on his head. It was clear there was pain on his features that he suppressed deeply for the sake of protecting what had not occurred for her yet. He reverted his attention to the white everything, “You said wrong universe. Where are we then?”

“ _We_ are nowhere,” the Tenth Doctor answered.

“When are we?” the Ninth Doctor questioned.

“ _We_ are no-when,” he replied smugly.

“So we’re in the void,” the Ninth and Eleventh Doctor rolled their eyes and pulled out their screwdrivers.

The Tenth Doctor huffed standing upright as he motioned to the Tardis, “This is not _the_ Void but it is _a_ Void. Look.”

The Doctor began to jump, showing a slight decrease of speed in the landing and the absence of sound that accompanied the action. He then cupped his mouth and began to shout but it came out in quiet hush. He made a little whisper and it sounded as though he were screaming.

“Alright, alright, we got it,” The Eleventh Doctor began to sniff and taste the air wildly, “I get a vague sense of boiled cabbage but there is no wet dog scent.”

“Dog!” Alex did his best to keep his voice even despite his distress, “Hicks! We have to go back and get her!”

“Don’t worry, Alex, to her it’ll be mere seconds until we return. Plus the Tardis will take care of her if our stay ends up…extending,” he looked to the Tenth Doctor, “Why are we here? Did you bring us?”

“No, we crash landed here trying to escape from a massive crack in the universe. We’ve been here oh…” he looked to Rose as they made faces toward each other as if in a secret language, “Ten…ten seconds before you arrived.”

“Another crack,” the Ninth Doctor looked to Alexys, “What do you know about this?”

“I…uh…”

The Doctors looked to Alex and Alexys with a strange expression and in unison spoke, “I’m starting to forget things…”

“And I’m starting to remember,” the Eleventh Doctor stepped away from the two. “How did we meet you two again?”

“Uh…you materialized in the living room of an Air B&B I was renting,” Alex answered.

“Before that?” he looked down with his hand to his head, “I remembered but it’s slipping from me.”

“They are not who you think they are,” the Tenth Doctor tried to explain again as he offered the screwdriver to show its readings, “You two were both mistaken. You assumed these two were the Alex and Alexys from our universe but they are the Alex and Alexys from a different universe. We’ll call it…universe—”

“A!” Alexys offered.

“Yes, Universe A.”

She smirked to Alex then remembered his name also started with an “A” and so she extended her right hand as she pressed her left hand to her chest. He completed their shake with a double tap to his chest and her palm. The sound seemed to amplify around them, making them all cover their ears. Rose looked to them, “What was that!”

“Just a hand shake,” Alexys looked nervously at them.

“Do it again,” the Ninth Doctor ordered.

The two looked at each other and repeated the same hand shake.

Tap, tap.

The sound was massive and this time even Alex and Alexys had to cover their ears. The Ninth Doctor shouted, “Where did you get it from?”

“A TV Show!”

“A TV Show?” the Tenth Doctor questioned.

“Wait…” the Eleventh Doctor squinted hard at both Alex and Alexys, “I’m remembering…what I’ve been forgetting…but forgetting what I’ve been remembering…”

“No sense this one,” the Ninth Doctor shook his head with dissatisfaction.

“Let him finish,” Alex piped up.

“That…handshake. I recall you two doing that tappy thing together…on a street…I was…on the road…you…?” he shouted in pain, dropping his head into his hands.

“And I recall seeing you and a butterfly,” The Ninth Doctor stared at Alexys as he shook his head, “She is not the _wrong_ Alexys. She is my _wife_!”

“Wife!” nearly everyone but Alex and Alexys shouted which made it all sound like a giant whisper.

“No…that’s…got to be wrong?” The Tenth Doctor began squinting.

“If they are the wrong universe how could we travel to them so easily? How are they with us now? How are we with th—”

“The cracks,” Rose spoke softly, gazing at Alex and Alexys with thoughtfulness, “It’s the cracks, right? It’s mucking everything up…Like when we travelled through the time vortex and had that whole Cybermen incident with Mickey. Except the cracks are doing it. They’re mucking everything up and that’s how you’re able to keep criss crossing back into your own time stream.”

“What about the Time Fissure?” The Eleventh Doctor asked in distress, “It brought us here like when we all…”

“Don’t,” the Tenth Doctor shook his head, “I’m remembering it now too but don’t you dare bring it up.”

“We need a plan,” the Ninth Doctor suddenly interrupted, “We need to get out of here and seal up those cracks.”

Alex and Alexys looked to each other remembering how it had been done in the past…or the future.

“What’s the look?” the Eleventh Doctor stood beside Rose as he motioned to Alex and Alexys, “You saw that right? They had a look.”

She nodded, looking to him still with disbelief that her Ten could turn into that Eleven, “I saw it.”

He stepped forward, “What was it then? What was the look?”

“Nothing,” Alexys shook her head, “We’re just as lost as you are.”

“Oh, really? Because I do recall my wife knowing about the Blinovitch Limitation Effect,” Nine snapped.

“The Blinowhat?” Rose questioned.

Alex shook his head, “I’m just as lost as you are.”

“Who are you?” The Ninth Doctor questioned.

“Yeah, who are you really?” the Eleventh Doctor followed.

“Just tell us who you are,” the Ten Doctor added.

Alex and Alexys looked to each other with desperate fear. They were completely at a loss on how to explain their involvement especially since they themselves did not know their involvement. Alex opened his mouth, deciding to explain, but Alexys suddenly shouted, “We’re the Watchers!”

“The Watchers,” the Doctors whispered to themselves, the Void turning it into a scream.

Alexys shook her head, “Not…related to _that_ Watcher,” she looked to Alex and shouted a phrase she knew that would turn into a whisper, “I’ll explain later,” then returned her attention to the others, “Yes, yes it’s all coming to me now. I too am remembering what I have forgotten and forgetting what I have remembered. We are the great and mysterious Watchers of the Doctor. It has been our sacred duty to be of observance to your many great triumphs and heartbreaks. We live in all universes in which the Doctor exists and we observe in every one. The Universe we come from and the Universe you originally met us in…uh our vessels do not know of our great mission. We are mere mortals that remain Watchers through…other means.”

There was silence that was soon broken up by Rose Tyler, “Is a TV show, innit?”

“What?” Alexys squeaked.

“In your Universe the Doctor is a TV show. Probably on BBC or something like,” she let out a little laugh.

The Ninth Doctor shook his head, “The great and mysterious Watchers.”

The Tenth Doctor cracked into a smile, “Well, how do I look?”

“Great!” Alex answered before narrowing his eyes, “What do you mean?”

“I mean compared to television. How do I look in the flesh?”

Alex repeated with the same enthusiasm, “Great!”

“I’m still not buying it!” The Ninth Doctor shook his head, “I’m losing bits of moments but I remember the Sapphire Waterfall and when I married you I knew _exactly_ who I was marrying.”

“And when we were in Rome,” The Eleventh Doctor looked to Alex with tenderness in his eyes, “I could not have gotten all that wrong.”

“You did not,” came a gruff old voice from behind them.

Everyone whipped their head to see the Twelfth Doctor emerging from a Tardis that had made no sound. Alex gave a little scrunch of his nose and suck of his teeth in displeasure, “Oh.”

“We turn into you,” the Doctors tried to keep their voices below a shout but it did not work.

“I wasn’t too thrilled about it either,” he stepped out and looked to Rose, “Rose Tyler…I…”

“Alright, what’s happened to me that the two of you are actin’ so funny,” she demanded.

“Who’s acting fu—”

“Clara Oswald!” Alex and Alexys’ scream came out in a whisper that was heard throughout the void.

“Hello, you two. Have we met?” she asked with her kind smile and massive cheeks.

“They’re the Watcher,” the Ninth Doctor gestured toward them with a scoff, “Didn’t you hear?”

“And you are?” she smiled curiously, politely.

“He is me,” the Twelfth Doctor stood upright, looking over the many faces and pointing them out, “So is he and so is…well you met that one.”

“No, I don’t believe we have,” The Eleventh Doctor furrowed his brows, “Are you…wait…say something?”

Clara had the look Rose had, the look of not being remembered and the look of fear having been forgotten, “What? What’d you want me to say?”

“Soufflé girl!” he exclaimed excitedly.

“Sou—oh, yeah. Yeah,” she smiled bashfully, “That was me.”

“Amazing!” he gasped, grasping her face between his hands as he looked over her, “It’s really you.”

“I didn’t get a welcome like that,” Rose mumbled.

Alexys leaned forward to whisper, “You wouldn’t want one,” forgetting that the whisper turned into a shout.

“What was that?” the Eleventh Doctor snapped looking back.

“I’m Rose Tyler,” Rose smiled, leaning around the man to meet Clara.

Clara’s eyes grew wide as she looked over the woman, “You’re Rose?”

“Oh, she’s doin’ it too,” Rose had a look of nervousness, “Doctor, what happens to me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the Doctors all spoke at once but the Twelfth Doctor continued, “I am here to tell you that the Universe is collapsing and it is all—wait…is that a wedding ring?”

Alexys smiled as she lifted her hand and though the Ninth Doctor was guarded and visibly annoyed he lifted his hand too, “We’re married.” 

“That’s no—” The Twelfth Doctor pulled out a blue book.

Alex and Alexys mouthed to each other, “River Song.”

“River Song? Who’s that?” Rose questioned as she looked between their faces.

The time fissure appeared once more and with it came a woman with curly beautiful hair and bright green eyes that fell from the sky and landed on her feet. A smile formed on her face as she looked into the crowd of Doctors, “Hello, Sweetie.”

Both Alexys and Alex nearly fell against each other at the sight of the woman standing before them. The Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor gave a wave, “Hello, River.”

“Who is River Song?” Rose questioned.

Clara smirked as she pointed to the Doctor, “That’s his wife.”

Rose motioned to Alexys, “I thought that was his wife.”

“No, that is my wife,” the Ninth Doctor grabbed Alexys around the middle and pulled her up against him.

“You’re wife?”

“Until he regenerates,” Alexys explained, “Then it’s a clean slate!”

River nodded with a polite smile then quickly pulled out her blue book for details.

“Don’t bother, River. I already checked. There’s…nothing about it,” the Twelfth Doctor shook his head, “This is all wrong. All of it is all mixed up and you want to know who’s fault is it?”

“Who?” Clara questioned.

“This is all _his_ fault,” he jabbed a finger toward the Eleventh Doctor.

“Me???”

Alexys smirked toward Alex and mouthed the words, “Told you he’s the _worst_.”

“How is this _my_ fault! And I heard that, Watcher!”

“It doesn’t matter _how_ it’s your fault. Just that it is,” he nodded before looking to River with gentleness in his eyes, “River…I—”

She pressed a finger to her lips before giving a shake of her head, “Spoilers. Now…are you Rose Tyler?”

A smile came on her features as she gave a little wave, “Hello, I am.”

River crossed the space between them before taking the blonde’s hands in hers, “I have wanted to meet you for an eternity.”

Her smile faltered as she looked to the Tenth Doctor, “Uh…Doctor. I’m starting to get very nervous about what happens to me _again_.”

“Don’t worry,” the Doctor pulled Rose away from River, “Nothing’s happening to you.”

“Well, the universe will rip us to shreds in moments if we don’t sort this situation out. Now, Clara and I have been tracking the Time Fissures and from what we can tell it leads back to one point in time.”

“What point is that?” Rose pondered.

“The 25th of December in the year 2020,” the Twelfth Doctor spoke with absolute certainty.

Alex and Alexys looked to each other and mouthed the words, “Christmas Special!”

“Okay, so we narrowed down a time but what about an actual location?” the Ninth Doctor huffed as he gripped onto Alexys.

“That is where I come in,” River smirked pulling out an old, old textbook, “I too have noticed the influx of Time Fissures and those very nasty cracks. Now, sweetie, I thought we had taken care of all that at Lake Silencio but it appears they are growing at a rapid pace. I have noted mentions of them throughout every point in the Universe except for this one right here.”

She opened the book and pointed to the title of the page. The rest of the room read the name out loud, “Greendale.”

“Greendah…yes, yes,” the Tenth Doctor nodded with squinting eyes before pulling back to look at everyone else, “Alright, I don’t have my glasses. But I get the point. You want us to go to Greendale on Christmas?”

Alex and Alexys mouthed to each other again, “Christmas Special!”

“Actually Doctor,” Clara interjected, “It would stand to reason that if all the points lead back to December 25th, we should arrive much earlier to figure out what events lead to it?”

“How do we know what events to look for if we don’t go to the actual event?” the Tenth Doctor questioned.

“Well, there are enough of us here. Why don’t we split up and have some go to the day of while others go to the weeks before?” Rose offered.

The Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctor grinned, “Brilliant.”

“You. You’re coming with me,” the Ninth and the Eleventh Doctor spoke in unison in regards to Alexys and Alex.

The Tenth Doctor rolled his eyes, “No, no, no. Watchers, you come with me along with Rose and Clara to the weeks before. You lot go to the day of.”

“I’m not leaving my wife in your hands,” the Ninth Doctor huffed.

“Technically…they’re your hands,” Alex offered.

“I’ll be fine,” she smiled as she looked up at him all ears and nose and eyes and concern, “We’ll be together again.”

“Do you remember this?” River looked to the Eleventh Doctor and the Twelfth Doctor expecting answers.

They shook their head, “Not at all!”

The two kissed to the surprise of everyone in the room. Eleven took the opportunity to grasp Alex by the face and look him in the eyes, “Now, I want you to do everything I sa—he says. The last thing I want for you is to get hurt. Is that understood?”

Alex nodded with a face growing redder by the second, “I understand.”

“Don’t be a hero. Don’t trust anything,” he leaned forward to kiss Alex’s forehead before stroking his cheek, “When you get back I’ll take you for eggs at the Heathrow.”

Alex nearly melted as he nodded with confirmation, “It’s a date.”

“Alright everyone! Allons-y!”

The Twelfth Doctor whispered words of encouragement to Clara that she took with a solid nod of her head before following along. Alex and Alexys gave one final look to their Doctors before stepping inside the Tardis and shutting the door. Together they walked up the ramp and viewed the inside with Clara in amazement.

There was a moment of awkward silence as the Doctor got the Tardis up and running but in that moment Alexys looked between all the faces with shyness, “Sooo…what is everyone’s zodiac sign?” 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

It was evening when Alex, Alexys, and the Doctor rolled into town in a classic blue Eldorado the color of the Tardis. The three inched their way across the boundary of Riverdale into the new town that would be their home for the next few days. Alex and Alexys looked out of the back window to read the welcome sign that was lined in Christmas lights.

“ _Let…_

**_Greendale_ **

_…cast a spell on you!_ ”

The two looked to each other with a knowing glance that made the Doctor both on edge and annoyed. In that half whine, half demand that only the Tenth Doctor could do he snapped at them in the backseat, “Enough of that! I know you two are the ‘ _all powerful watchers—_ ”

“Great and mysterious watchers,” Alexys corrected.

“—but I’ll have none of that from you.”

There was silence as the vehicle inched forward into the town. Alexys looked to Alex and mouthed the words, “You feel that?”

“I would advise you to speak up, Alexys. If you are to be part of the reconnaissance then you must _share_ your observations,” the Doctor scolded.

“Sorry, right,” she looked to Alex who urged her to continue, “Do you feel that?”

“Feel wha—?”

The silence of the car engine dying answered his question.

“We’ll go on foot,” he chippered up. “What day is it?”

“December 10th,” Alex replied as they all got out of the car.

The Doctor pointed to Alex, “Happy Hannukkah!”

“Thank you!” Alex beamed.

“Alright, well, we’ll just do a bit looking around,” he motioned with his finger in a circular motion, his tongue poking out against his cheek as he bit it lightly before tasting the air, “Bit of boiled cabbage. What was I saying? Right. Look around, return to Rose and Clara in the Tardis for a cuppa tea and then be on ou—look at this?.”

The Doctor stooped down to pick up something off the ground. He looked to Alex and Alexys with curiosity and from the glint of a near street lamp they could see it looked to be something close to a gold pocket watch about the size of his palm. They huddled in close as he opened it to reveal a small dial surrounded by thousands and thousands of tiny tick marks which made it seem more like a kitchen timer without any numbers. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the gold watch.

“There’s another one!” Alex exclaimed, walking over to find another by some bushes.

“Oh and here!” Alexys replied further into the middle of the street.

“It looks like they are everywhere,” Alex mumbled motioning further down the road behind Alexys to the ground sporadically littered with them.

“Oh…this can’t be good.”

Alex and Alexys looked to the Doctor as he inspected the findings of the device with his signature “can’t be good” expression.

“You two watchers,” he was suddenly very serious as he used the term, “You saw the end of the Time War. You saw the return of the Daleks, you saw me meet Rose Tyler, you saw Aliens in London, you saw Bad Wolf and a thousand other things more. Now…did you two ever see anything like this?”

Together they shook their head, “No.”

He shook his head in return.

“Is it like a vortex manipulator?” Alex questioned after some time, “I can’t imagine it’d be good to have all these around. If a town got their hold on something like this and all began using it without knowing what they were doing…it could be the reason there’s all the Time Fissures?”

The Doctor looked to Alex with intensity before looking back to the watch in dismissal, “Wrong, _welllll_ you’re on the right track. This is not a vortex manipulator but something far more complex. This here is Time Lord Technology or an attempt at it multiplied over and over again. You were right about one thing…A whole town getting their hands on this could be the cause for the Time Fissures and possibly the cracks.”

“Well, it has to be an accident!” Alexys looked to the watch in her hand then back to the Doctor.

“No, no,” he looked up to the sky as if surveying the night for answers he could not find with him, “This was very much done on purpose. The question is: why?”

“Maybe it was done for you,” Alex thought long and hard about all he had seen, “Maybe it was just a tool to get your attention.”

“My atten…” the Doctor’s eyes grew to the shape of grapefruits as he glared behind them. The two moved to look but he grasped their shoulders, “Look at me. Just look at me. This is wrong…this is very, very wrong. Just keep looking at me. Just don’t sto—”

“Doctor.”

The next events came in a series of jumps and skips to Alex and Alexys as if a scratched DVD were being forced to play. Screaming, so much screaming, running, so much running. The Tardis. Sparks flying. Holding onto the center console while the Doctor pressed buttons and pulled levers. “I need to know!” Staring up at the circles and whirls of Time Lord technology. Emergency lights. Blasts shooting. More running. No escaping. “I am so sorry, Rose Tyler.” Shots being fired. “I am so sorry, Clara Oswald.”

Music.

Gentle tunes of a record from times of old, drifting along wings of a butterfly.

_“All night, I only dream of you. All day, the same thing happens too.”_

A hallway, a long hallway with crimson walls and black accents and old antique furniture and a single window all the way at the end.

_“I can’t explain just where the answer lies. Oh, it must have been your haunting, magic eyes.”_

Dull colors, only deep in their darkness, with lights that casted a thick deep yellowy glow. There was something unfamiliar and yet something so familiar all at once. Where? And most importantly…when?

Alex and Alexys took in a deep breath, for the first time realizing their existence. They turned toward each other then jumped in surprise. Alex wore a long silk robe of black and crimson stripes with a shirt and comfortable trousers all of the same crimson. His hair was coiffed backward in a fantastic manner while his glasses were newer and incredibly chic. Alexys wore her hair slicked back with a headband and crimson sweater with a high-waisted black skirt and black stockings. They pointed at one another then themselves.

“This looks…”

“…very familiar.”

They turned to a mirror then whisper-shouted in unison, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina!”

“That means you’re Ambrose!”

“And you’re Sabrina!”

The two let out an excited whisper screech before separating in a hurry to where their respective rooms would be.

Alex ran up the steps to the attic room that had been iconic for Ambrose and when entered he bit back a gasp at the beauty of it. Books upon stacks of books lined the surfaces covering topics from Occult Law to Ancient Civilizations and What They Were _Really_ Like. LGBT literature sat at the forefront of stacks and beneath them were beautiful handcrafted wooden furniture that seemed beyond this world.

“You said you were getting water?”

With nothing but a blanket to cover him, the sweet-eyed Luke sat on the bed with a smile just for Alex. He looked down at his empty hands then the empty space next to the man that appeared far more attractive in real life than anything he had seen on a TV screen. The eyes, the lips, the raised brow beckoning him to make a move—all of it took Alex’s breath away.

“Well?”

“I-I forgot,” Alex stammered.

Luke rubbed his jaw as he looked Alex up and down, “Well, I know a different way to quench my thirst.”

On the floor below Alexys stepped into her room and with outstretched arms twirled until she stopped in front of a mirror. She still looked the same and Alex still looked the same yet there was a notable difference despite the wardrobe. Their demeanor, their essence, their visibility changed into something entirely different.

“Spellman?” 

She jumped and spun around to see Nick Scratch laying a top the bed far more delectable than she could have imagined, “Uh…Nick?”

He sat up slightly with that dark eyed stare as he smirked, “Well, are you going to join me?”

Two Hours Later…

Breathless and exhausted, Alex and Alexys met each other in the hallway once again. It was clear they were not wearing the same clothes they had on earlier and it was clear they had been intimate with another person. They pointed at each other with the excited question they answered at the same time.

“Luke!”

“Nick!”

“Did you know?” he asked, meaning did she know Nick would be waiting for her.

“No! Did you know?” she asked, meaning did he know Luke would be waiting for him.

“No! But what is going on? What are we doing here?”

“Well, I did find this hanging around my neck in the middle of…interrogating Nicholas Scratch,” Alexys coughed as she pulled from around her neck a long chain that held a silver pocket watch at the end of it.

Alex pulled a similar one from around his neck, “I have the same one.”

“I also found this in my pocket when things were…” Alexys trailed off as she pulled out a second one.

“I also found another one,” Alex pulled out the fourth.

“Okay…okay…do you remember what happened?”

“The last thing I remember is the Doctor saying something about this not being good and to not look away from him.” 

“That’s the last thing I remember too,” Alexys put both the watches back out of sight as Alex did.

“I remember bits and pieces of the Tardis and trying to leave but that’s it…” Alex was visibly worried.

“And something about Clara and Rose, right?” Alexys wasn’t sure if she was making things up or pulling at loose threads of memory.

“He said he was sorry? I don’t…wait. These look familiar,” Alex pulled the one from his pocket out to show the circular markings that meant it was Gallifreyan language, “Remember when the Doctor became John Smith?”

“You think we used the Chameleon Arch?”

“Maybe…that would explain how we’re planted here and it’s totally normal. I mean…do you have memories beyond the show?” Alex questioned.

Alexys put her hand to her head with a squint, “Yeah…I think so. It’s like what I’ve seen from the show but in first person perspective with way more details. And I have a cell phone! With text messages and phone numbers! There’s someone here named Archie. Oh and I remember… _using the bathroom_? That’s definitely not on the show.”

Alex stifled a laugh, “Yeah…me too. But I don’t remember magic. Well…not like the show. I have strange memories of stories of Sabrina’s dad and weird aunts and uncles that lived here before us. It’s like it’s the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina but maybe alien stuff instead of magic?”

“What if we’re trapped in a dream by the Bhad Bhabie?”

“What?” Alex shook his head in confusion.

“You know…” Alexys motioned around them, “What if this is a monster dream from Bhad Bhabie?”

“The ‘Catch me outside’ girl?” Alex narrowed his eyes in absolute confusion.

“Nooooo, the nightmare-demon-thing that Sabrina released!”

“Ohhh, Batibat!” Alex exclaimed ignoring Alexys’ whisper of it being the same thing, “That would mean that there is magic in this world but there is absolutely no recollection of Chilling Adventures type magic. Maybe some Wiccan stuff but we’re absolutely mortal.”

“And more than that,” Alexys sighed, “We’re college students. Community college students.”

“Right…right,” Alex racked his brain for more details, “I’m going for Social Work!”

“And I’m going for English,” Alexys looked at the pocket watch in Alex’s hand, “Do you think these are ours _and_ Rose and Clara’s?”

“Perhaps. But it still doesn’t explain how we’re able to remember. The Doctor definitely did _not_ remember anything about himself and we remember ourselves _and_ our new selves,” Alex sighed.

“Well…he did kind of remember but he thought it was all dreams,” Alexys offered, “This could be a similar thing. Maybe we have an easier time breaking through the perception filter and biodata module.”

“Okay, you _have_ to tell me how you memorized all this random Doctor Who stuff,” Alex looked at her expectantly.

“I don’t know…sometimes I get bored or remember details about the show and think I discover plot holes but then I realize no…nothing,” Alexys knocked on the invisible screen separating them from the reader, “Air tight.”

“Well, fine. But what do we do? What day is it?”

Alexys pulled out her cell phone, “It’s November Thirtieth.”

“And it was December Tenth when we landed in Greendale the first time,” Alex mused, “Do you think we still have those little watches we found with the Doctor?”

“We should look through our stuff but we shouldn’t let Nick or Luke know what’s going on. We have to keep this between us,” Alexys knew she didn’t have to say it but she said it anyway.

Alex was silent, staring at Alexys in deep thought for the moment.

“What is it?”

“Well…memory loss? Time confusion? Cracks? Do you think this could be…the S—” a smile played on his lips as he drawled out the “s” sound.

Before he could finish the word that terrified her she interrupted with a nod, “Sontarans? Yeah, totally. This all screams the work of Sontarans.”

Alex chuckled, “No, that’s not what I was going to say.”

“Well, this was a great powwow but I’m on water duty,” Alexys turned abruptly.

Alex laughed, “As am I. So about the S—”

“Sontarans? Well, you know what they say? Speak of the devil and he doth appear,” she beamed, “So we never got to discuss the details but…we _both_ had sex with the Doctor.”

“Oh right! What was Nine like?”

Alexys smirked and playfully jabbed her elbow against his side, “Well, they don’t call him _nine_ for nothing. KnowwhatImean? KnowwhatImean?”

Alex laughed, “Well, do you know why they call Eleven, Eleven?”

“Because he’s compensating,” Alexys answered in all seriousness as she continued her way to the kitchen.

“What…What? No!” Alex shouted as he ran after her.

The two playfully sniped at each other about their respective Doctors as they entered the kitchen only to find a candlelit dinner being cleaned up by Zelda. She jumped at the sight of them, “Oh, Alexys, Alexander. I thought you both would be in bed by now.”

Zelda looked exactly how they recalled. Elegant in heels, a tight black dress, perfectly styled hair, red lipstick, and the cigarette holder ring with a cigarette on the end. Alex was the first to recover, “Right, Auntie. We’re just getting some water.”

The door to the bathroom opened as Zelda shrugged, “Well, I’d like to introduce you to my…special friend. John?”

Emerging from the bathroom, wiping off excess moisture from his hands was a tall lanky man with wild hair, “Pleasure to meet you both. Your Aunt Zelda has told me so much about you.”

The man extended his hand but Alex and Alexys held their breath for fear of passing out completely. They weren’t just looking at Zelda’s date for the evening. They were looking at the Twelfth Doctor.

“Alexys, Alexander,” Zelda looked to them with disapproval.

Alexys recovered and fit her hand into the man’s massive one, “The pleasure is all mine, Doctor.”

“Oh, it’s professor,” he smiled warmly as he pulled back, “Professor John Smith.”

“Right,” Alex shook his hand next in sequence, “Well, we’re just off to get some water we’ll be out of your way in just a moment.”

“No need. We’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other in the next few days. Tonight we’re celebrating my acceptance as a teacher at the college in town,” John Smith smiled with jovial tones.

“We can’t wait!” Alex and Alexys spoke in unison before rushing to grab their glasses of water then rushing back up the stairs.

“He doesn’t remember us,” Alexys quickly spat out.

“He’s going to be in the college,” Alex shuddered with displeasure.

“All of our ideas are out the window. If he’s here as John Smith that means one of these pocket watches belongs to him,” Alexys frowned deeply.

“Yeah…and who do the others belong to?” Alex asked.

She sighed, “I guess we’re just going to have to find out.”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

After a warm breakfast made by Hilda and a…fun conversation with Zelda on the practices of safe sex, Alex and Alexys were off to school. The morning was covered by a blanket of rolling nimbostratus clouds. Moisture clung to the air forcing Alex and Alexys into fashionable raincoats with many pockets that hid their many watches. The two considered walking the short distance to the school but a cherry red ‘68 Buick Skylark arrived at the front of the Spellman Mortuary with Nick Scratch wearing a Santa hat in the driver’s seat and Luke Chalfant wearing reindeer ears in the back.

_“When I look out my window. What do you think I see?”_

Alex and Alexys looked to each other with a satisfied grin as they entered the vehicle with their new partners. In sequence they leaned in to kiss the men waiting for them before shutting the door behind. The kisses were returned and with it the short ride to school began.

_“When I look in my window. So many different people to be.”_

“Last night was quite the experience,” Nick smirked, glancing down to Alexys who had her head on his shoulder while he drove.

She swatted at the fluffy ball atop is head playfully, “Yeah? What kind of experience?”

He kissed the top of hers before looking back to the road, “One I hope to relive again and again.”

_“When I look over my shoulder. What do you think I see?”_

“So…I was thinking about tonight,” Luke sat with his back against the seat, shoulders square with Alex’s hand in his lap.

“What about tonight?” Alex wondered.

“I was thinking about taking you out for a little surprise. What’d you think about that?” Luke had been looking out the window but turned his eyes on Alex in wait of response. 

_“Some other cat lookin’ over, over his shoulder at me.”_

The vehicle pulled into the parking lot of the college as Alex grinned, “I’d love that.”

_“He is strange.”_

With the car parked facing the street the group exited together. 

_“Very, very, very strange.”_

Alex and Alexys stopped and looked at each other. They hardly made eye contact as they extended their right hand and kept their left hand at their chest, moving in sync with the double tap. Their new beaus walked around the car to join them. Nick wrapped his arm around Alexys’ shoulder while Luke took Alex’s hand into his with authority and pleasure as they guided them in toward the school.

The two had been so wrapped up in their fluffy conversations that when they crossed the threshold into the school’s quad they nearly froze. The place was familiar—familiar, familiar—with the wide open space, terra cotta circles, and large beige buildings all decorated like a nondenominational holiday extravaganza. Alex and Alexys looked to each other with a shake of their head, “Where…are we?”

Luke looked to Alex and Alexys with confusion, “Greendale Community College. Where we always are?”

“Right…”

Alex and Alexys spent the rest of the walk through the quad exchanging whispers. It suddenly made sense why Nick and Luke were so festive for the first day of the month. Through snippets of conversation they gathered there was a contest of who could remain the most “Jolly” until winter break. Their eyes scanned every red nose they came across for anyone they knew to be familiar with the community college while also searching for the Doctor, Rose, and Clara. In the hands of students they searched for the strange gold watches they had found on the ground with the Doctor when they had first arrived to Greendale. No hand, no face, no voice, no random quirk went unnoticed by the two but it all came up empty.

“Did you hear, Alexys?”

She lifted her head to look at Nick, “I’m sorry?”

“There’s going to be a Break Dawn Bonfire down by the lake tomorrow because of International Day of Disabled Persons. Want to go?”

It was then that they realized they were standing in front of a bulletin with flyers stuck to it all advertising the bonfire except for one lone flyer off to the side.

Alex furrowed his brows, “A Bonfire for International Day of Disabled Persons?”

Alexys plucked the odd flyer from the corner and folded it into her pocket as quickly as she could.

“The school is closing for the day. It’s really because they found a gas leak and need to shut the school down for maintenance but,” Luke shrugged and began to pull them through the door across the hall for a short cut, “you know the Dean.”

As if on cue the bald headed bespectacled man in full Elsa garb walked into the room, “Dean-a-ling-a-ling…”

He paused in mid-step looking between the faces of the four and the empty table of the study room. His face transformed from surprised, to confused, and then to fear before turning back and running in the opposite direction. Alex and Alexys looked to each other, “ _That_ was weird.”

“ _That_ was the Dean,” Nick laughed. “I’ve got to split. My class is down that way but I’ll see you after?”

Alexys grinned as she leaned up to press a kiss to his lips, “Can’t wait.”

“I’m heading with Nick. Are we still on for lunch?” Luke questioned, pulling off his ears and placing it on Alex’s head before wrapping him in a sweet embrace.

Alex sank into it as he nodded, “Oh, you bet!”

Luke kissed him before departing, “I’ll see you then.”

Alex and Alexys waited for them to get out of ear shot before screaming in as quiet of a possible way as they could, “Oh my _GOD_!”

They froze as the signature mascot—the Human Being—walked past them with decorative garb for the chilly holidays. 

“We have to find a quiet place to talk,” Alexys whispered as she watched him go by, “What time does our first class start?”

From Alex’s pocket he pulled out a folded piece of paper with a neatly printed schedule on it, “We have about ten minutes before we have English.”

“Wait…how do we know we’re in the same class?”

Alex showed her the piece of paper with astrix beside it to indicate it was shared between the both of them, “I’ve got it all right here.”

“Ugh, memories of ST are coming back to me,” she smiled fondly as they walked out of the hallway outside toward the building they were heading to, “So…did you and Luke do it last night?”

“Have sex, you mean?” Alex teased, “Yeah, we did. I’m assuming you and Nick did too?”

Alexys shook her head and scoffed, “Oh no! I’m a lady. And plus, do you see a ring on this f— where is my ring?”

“It’s probably somewhere safe in the Tardis—”

“Oh, it’s on my other hand.”

“—but really? You’re not going to have sex with him? After you’ve already done it? I mean, are you even still married to the Doctor at this point?” Alex pondered out loud.

“I don’t kno— oh, hey! Look a butterfly!” she grinned, stepping back so that the butterfly could pass in front of them. She marveled at the white wings with black edges as it passed.

“Isn’t she beautiful!”

Alex and Alexys jumped at the Northern British accent.

“Called a Cabbage White, native to these parts especially when growing broccoli, cabbage, and kale,” the tall man smiled, “I’m Professor Smythe.”

The man extended his hand and Alex took it immediately, recognizing him as the Ninth Doctor wearing a flashing holiday lights necklace, “Professor Smythe, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

There was a brilliant kindness in his eyes as he extended the hand to Alexys as well, “Pleasure is all mine. I’ve been teaching here for ten years now and this is the first year that we’ve actually had some to visit. I pulled far more than an arm on that Dean to get them planting the right vegetables in the garden up road.”

“Right, right,” Alexys was already blushing as she continued to shake his hand. “And what do you teach?”

“Oh, I teach Astronomy!”

“Of course you do,” Alex mumbled with wide eyes.

He elbowed Alexys softly when he realized she was still holding his hand. They both blushed as she let go, “Oh, sorry. Do you have any openings in your class?”

“Not at the moment but perhaps next semester. I’ll see if I can get you on the short list. Your name?” he looked at her with an almost shy smile.

“Alexys…Alexys He—Smellpan. I mean Spellman!” she blushed then looked to Alex, “And this is my cousin, Alex.”

“Oh…Spellman. You’re the niece and nephew of the woman that makes those fantastic biscuits for the bake sale? What was her name? Hilda! Hilda Spellman, lovely woman,” he smiled as he looked off in memory.

“And married!” Alexys shouted. Alex shook his head but she continued, “Oh, right not _technically_ married but she was been living with a gentleman for over ten years so you know how that goes.”

“Oh…I thought she had mentioned she was single?” he furrowed his brows.

“They’re on and off but trust, they will always be back on!” she laughed in a frightening way, “Well, we must be going!”

“Of course. But before you go,” he pulled his necklace off and placed it around Alexys, “Seems you forgot your holiday cheer. Don’t want the Dean to catch sight of that. Anyway. Was a pleasure. Ta ta!”

The two waved as they continued their walk but once he was out of ear shot Alex whisper-shouted, “You are playing with _fire_! What are you doing?”

“I-I don’t know but there was a butterfly,” she cried as she touched the necklace.

“So?”

“He said the first time he saw me there was a butterfly. I think that was it?” she frowned.

“But…we’re supposed to be from the wrong universe?” Alex looked down.

“I don’t know…either way. We just found another owner of one of the silver fob watches. I just don’t get it. Nine and Twelve were supposed to go with Eleven and River to the future…why are they here now?”

Alex glanced around then shook his head, “Maybe we shouldn’t talk so openly about all this.”

Alexys’ eyes grew wide as she recalled what Alex was known to do when speaking in secret, “Code names? Code names? Code names?”

“Yes, but what do choose?”

“I’ve got it! The Highwaymen. Nine is Johnny Cash, Ten is Waylon Jennings, Eleven is Willie Nelson, and Twelve is Kris Kristofferson,” Alexys spat out with a rush of excitement.

Alex paused as if to give her a moment to catch her breath, “Okay. Not where I thought you were going but I’m here for it. Rose should be Dolly Parton and Clara should be Wanda Jackson and River should be Loretta Lynn.”

“Wow, Alex,” she stopped herself from a rush of positive feedback and simply extended her hands for their shake. Alex grin and they completed it with the double tap.

“Okay, so we know that these…” Alex paused trying to think of another code word for the pocket watches.

“Lighters!”

“Sure, lighters, belong to Johnny and Kris. Do you think the other ones belong to Waylon and Willie?”

“I thought the lighters belonged to us,” Alexys pulled her hair forward to play with it as she continued in deep thought.

“I thought so too but I don’t know anymore. If it’s really like that episode then we shouldn’t know what ours is. Right? We should really take a look around and see what we find,” Alex looked to her with uncertainty.

“Should I do that tonight while you’re on your date?”

“I don’t know. We can learn more at the Bonfire. We can get answers from some of the other students. Whatever weird questions we ask they’ll just dismiss as being drunk or high,” Alex shrugged.

“Genius, totally genius,” she nodded.

They finished their conversation as they entered the room where their English class was to be had. Both paused with the invisible question of front or back but before they could decide the room filled up and they were left with two chairs in the front center. They shrugged and took their seats. Before they could settle in something on the teacher’s desk in the shape of a red hat caught their attention. They looked to each other with confusion.

“It…can’t be…” Alexys whispered.

“Is it a coincidence?” Alex wondered.

“God, I hope it is…”

“Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! I am the new substitute professor but have no fear, I, the world renowned Professor Schmidt, well not world renowned but world…traversed, anyway! _I_ will be your guide in the mythical, magical, wonderful world of literature while Professor W is on the mend. First on the docket is William Shakespeare. Oh, no, no, no don’t give me that look. There is a reason this Shakespeare is a genius and we will figure it all out together! And before you ask, yes…there will be a diorama.”

Alex and Alexys looked to each other as they whispered, “Willie.” 

The Eleventh Doctor continued to speak but looked to the fez that was left on his desk. He picked it up and placed it on his head, “I have one very specific rule in this class I will not forgive. If you touch my fez you will get an immediate failing grade, is that understood?”

The class agreed.

He looked back to the chalkboard as if to write but suddenly grasped the fez and threw it at Alexys so quickly she only had time to deflect and send it flying in a different direction, “You didn’t even try to save it! Oh, it’s hit the floor and now it’s a mess. What were you thinking?”

“I! You! It! Failing!” Alexys dropped her face into her hands realizing that she had no explanation and would not get the Doctor to stop complaining regardless of what she said. She looked to Alex who seemed thoroughly amused as she shook her head and mouthed the words, “The worst.”

He went and grabbed it himself before returning to the front of the room, “Oh, I know you two.”

They went rigid.

“I saw you this morning doing that tappy thing on the street today,” he mocked their handshake, “What was that a— catch!”

He used the distraction to toss the fez toward Alex. Instead of using his hands he leaned up and tipped his head so that it would land straight on his crown. Alexys gasped in amazement.

“Yes! You see! Everyone! This gentleman, what was your name?”

“Alexander,” he whispered.

“Alexander!” The Doctor boomed, “Alexander displayed an incredible skill you will need in order to pass the remainder of this class. Do you know what that is?”

The class was silence.

The Doctor took on a strikingly serious pose as he gazed off beyond their heads to the back of the room with a dramatic tone, “Adaptability.”

Alex nearly gasped as he looked to Alexys, recalling the first few things he had said to him. The two watched him prance around looking at the items brought with the students and trying to compare it to Shakespeare. Both had exactly opposite faces so much so they appeared like the theater masks which he used as a jumping off point to divide Shakespeare’s plays between comedy and tragedy.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

The rest of the morning was spent in a shroud of curiosity as Alex and Alexys did their best to uncover as much evidence as they possibly could without looking too suspicious. Alexys used lunch to search around the building and the faculty listings for any other “John Smith” variants while Alex probed Luke for some information. It all turned up empty.

After some thinking they broke down their situations into four questions they needed to answer in order to uncover the mystery of where they were and why. First: where was the Tenth Doctor and where were Rose, Clara, and River? Second: what were those trinkets they found on the ground when they first arrived to Greendale? Third: what had frightened the Doctor so much to cause him to use the Chameleon Arch? And fourth: what was Alex to wear for his date with Luke?

“I wish this was like Choices with like three outfits picked and a short description of their benefits,” Alex groaned toward the sky.

Alexys seemed to jump from a pile of his clothes as she pulled out a patterned shirt and leather jacket, “We have no such luck but the description part might help! What do you hope to achieve with this outfit?”

“I don’t know…have sex? Be emotionally and physically intimate with my partner?” Alex shrugged with desperation, “While also not rousing suspicion!”

Alexys continued to pull out articles of clothing from the pile as she nodded her head, “Mhm, mhm, mhm, ah-HA!”

“What?” Alex turned to her with confusion.

“Here I have crafted a _classic_ Ambrose look. We have an interestingly patterned shirt, cool leather jacket, nice form fitting jeans, and a nice pair of shoes to round the whole thing out. Try it on!” Alexys grinned as she pushed the ensemble into his hold.

“I don’t know…I don’t know if I can pull it off,” he answered honestly.

“Alex, you can pull _anything_ off. Plus! You’re supposed to be Ambrose. Would Ambrose say no to wearing…anything?” Alexys paused to consider the answer to her own question but shook her head, “Besides! There’s enough of us implanted into this history that Luke is already head over heels for you. It would definitely rouse suspicion for you to suddenly show up dressed completely different. I mean…look at me. Do you see any tie-dye?”

He shook his head as he gazed over her outfit, “No.”

“I know! It’s killing me,” she gripped his arm to express her true devastation, “But we must go on! Now try this on and meet me in my room!”

Alex chuckled, “Okay, will do.”

It took only a matter of minutes before Alex was down to Alexys’ room. She let out a pretend whistle that mostly consisted of humming as she saw him, “You look AMAZING! Luke isn’t going to be able to take his hands off of you.”

“That’s definitely the hope but…should I be doing this? Should we be doing this? We should be getting to work and trying to solve this,” Alex had the look in his eye he usually did when he was distressed by the amount of work needed to be done.

“Alex, the Doctor used the Chameleon Arch on us and himself! That means he needs us to _blend in_. If you find some weird stuff or see some weird stuff, by all means, act on it! But number one: you cannot draw attention to yourself. You need to remain casual and cool and YOU. Have fun with Luke tonight and I’ll poke around and see what I find,” Alexys smiled.

“I don’t like that. I don’t want you going out alone. Who knows what the Doctor saw and plus there could be the S—”

“Sontarans? I know, super scary. But have fun! I will call Nick and we will explore together and he’ll just think it’s a fun quirky date from yours truly,” she grinned, pushing Alex toward the steps to leave.

Alex stopped, looking at her seriously, “Alexys, I don’t want you getting hurt. Don’t do anything reckless. Please be on guard.”

The doorbell rang signaling Luke had arrived.

“Promise?”

Alexys gave a solid nod as she extended her hands for the handshake, “Promise.”

They double tapped and then Alex was on his way.

Alexys waited until she heard the car drive off before pulling out the folded up flyer from her pocket. She had kept it stuffed in there all day, not daring to view it with anyone else around for fear of what chaos it could create. With trembling fingers she unfolded the flyer and let out a shaky breath.

“ **Blue Moon Questions Need Blue Moon Answers**

**Join Us at Blue Moon Tavern 8:30pm**

**Come Alone** ”

A quick glance at her phone showed that it was already 8:10pm. She knew Alex would be pissed if she went alone but as far as their promise went…she made a promise _not_ to be reckless! Alexys already had a backup plan anyway. She had texted Nick to meet her at her house around 10 and if she wasn’t there? She knew Nick would do anything to find her.

Alexys grabbed her coat and her small backpack that held her wallet and a trusty pepper spray then was on her way. She had looked up the directions and, like everything in Greendale, it was a short walk. There was part of her that condemned herself for being so stupid…but the flyer seemed to be aimed right at her! It was an explicit invitation for her given that her instagram handle had been @_bluemoonprincess for over five years. It was no coincidence in a place that seemed to operate on coincidences. The message was clearly for her.

She got to the end of the driveway then paused to look back at the house,

She said a silent prayer that Alex would forgive her for stepping out without him.

The drive to Cerberus Books was quick with sweet tunes and casual conversation. Alex wasn’t certain he could hide what was on his mind but also wasn’t certain he could keep to the small talk. Luke made it easy by playing an arrangement of Alex’s favorite songs. He expected to only hear the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina soundtrack but Luke played actual songs that Alex enjoyed—including NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and Ben Platt. They even sang a few tunes together in a beautiful display of silliness and joy.

Once at the Book Store/Diner Luke took on a whole new persona. The silliness was replaced by something far sexier as he went through natural display of taking charge.

_“Just give me a chance (give me a chance). I won’t let you down (I won’t let you down).”_

They walked through the door and Luke gave a single nod to Dr. Cerberus who returned the nod and motioned toward the back. Alex couldn’t help but get lost at the sight of the place that had all of his favorite elements—fantasy, nostalgia, and comfort food. He found pleasure noting that the bookstore also decorated for the holidays but made sure to include _all_ the holidays of December.

_“Just know that I want you (just know that I want you). Want you around (want you around).”_

Luke took Alex’s hand suddenly and placed a kiss against his fingers as he smirked, “Keep up, darlin’, I don’t want you fallin’ behind.”

_“Cause I’m in the dark (cause I’m in the dark). Or up on the shelf (or up on the shelf). When I’m without you (when I’m without you). With anyone else (with anyone else).”_

“Uhhh, the only way I’m falling behind is if it gives me a chance to _see_ your behind,” Alex grinned at the blush his answer produced in Luke’s cheeks.

_“When I ask you to dance…please give me a chance.”_

He turned around then and tugged Alex toward the backroom that separated them from the rest of the patrons. All he could see were rows of bookshelves but suddenly Dr. Cerberus poked his head out with a joyful motion, “Around here, Mr. Chalfant. Everything is set to your liking, I hope.”

They turned the corner he indicated and Alex gasped with joy.

It was a rounded booth surrounded by bookshelves with all of Alex’s favorite genres. From the bookshelves hung fairy lights that casted a pleasant glow. On the table was a row of candles lit with rose petals decorating the surface that made the whole affair feel more intimate. Waiting for them was already two glasses of wine and a plate of mozzarella sticks. It was all so beautiful Alex wiped at his eyes and held in a genuine cry.

Luke looked to Dr. Cerberus with a grin, “It’s perfect. That was exactly the reaction I was hoping for. After you, Alexander.”

Alex moved in on one side, scooting all the way to the middle to meet Luke where we settled in.

The dapper man handed Alex his wine and raised his in a toast, “L‘chayim!”

“L‘chayim,” Alex repeated, tapping his glass against the other man’s. He took a sip of the wine with a joy that he had not felt in years. He couldn’t help but to ask, “What is all of this about?”

Luke looked at him, genuinely looked at him with a sigh. Gone was the sexiness but its replacement was something that made Alex far weaker—compassion. He leaned in slightly closer, fingers touching at Alex’s hand, “I noticed how stressed you’ve been. School’s been hard and I know how much you want to make your parents proud. I also know they aren’t giving you the support you deserve and it’s making things harder on you. I don’t like seeing you this way. I don’t like seeing you so…lost. I want to be an anchor for you. I want to protect you, keep you safe. I want to be here to support you and I know you have your cousin, Alexys, but I want to be a different kind of support. She’s there to remind you that you’re strong enough to keep going. I want to be here to remind you that it’s okay to take a break. This is me, helping you take a break.”

Alex could not control the soft tears spilling out of his eyes. His heart felt full and though it was mostly joy there was sadness quickly changing the tides. His brilliant mind could not let him forget the Chameleon Arch and yet…and yet…He looked into Luke’s eyes so sweet and blue as his hand caressed Alex’s cheeks to wipe away tears. He wished to himself, willed to himself, begged to himself: _please let this be real, please let this be real, please let this be real._

“Is that okay?” Luke asked, his hand slipping behind Alex’s head in a supportive gesture.

Alex wiped at his own face with one of the napkins as he nodded, “Yeah, I…don’t really know _how_ to take a break.”

“Yeah,” Luke chuckled, “I noticed. This’ll be what? Your fourth degree? You’re nonstop. It’s something I admire about you. Your drive, your thirst for knowledge, it inspires me.”

Again Alex repeated the mantra in his brain: _please let this be real._

“But come on, let’s order. The world is our oyster but I wouldn’t recommend the oysters here,” Luke shuddered, “They travel very far.”

On the other side of town Alexys entered the Blue Moon Tavern, immediately met with the smell of wet dog. She stepped to the side to take a look around and was not surprised to see it was a typical dive. A juke box across the way crooned Sultans of Swing while lost souls danced drunken steps with drunken partners. Alexys was surprised by how tipsy the crowd already seemed before nine but she made no judgments. The people there were looking to lose something while she was looking to find.

Patrons entered behind her and so she moved out of the way by taking an empty seat at the bar. The man behind the bar gave a gruff hello before asking, “Can I see your I.D.?”

“Oh, right,” Alexys pulled her bag off her shoulders and removed her wallet to show him.

A different bartender came up to relieve the man, “What’ll it be, dear?”

It was then that she realized the bartender was none other than Dorian Gray. He looked at her impatiently and so she quickly answered, “Water with lime?”

“Right up.”

Alexys turned on the stool to look at the room again. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for but she assumed anything strange or out of the ordinary was the right move. A bang made her jump but when she looked it was just the Mr. Gray dropping off her drink before moving to somewhere else.

Before he got too far away she called out to him, “Hey, wait!”

He rolled his eyes then returned, “I am sorry, dear, but water with lime does not tip as well as a triple bourbon so I beg of you…make this quick?”

“Yes, right,” she stammered a moment before asking, “Have you noticed anything strange or weird happening tonight?”

A delightful smirk pulled on his features as he seemed to look at her truly for the first time, “Oh dear, if you are searching for strange _or_ weird you have certainly come to the right place. Every person here holds their share of dark, twisted secrets that will be sure to leave you questioning the very world around you. However…if you look at the corner booth you’ll see an individual that has just arrived this very evening.”

Alexys followed his gaze as the opening riff of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida began to play. Her eyes followed the divide of swaying bodies to a man sitting alone at a table with a tall glass of water at his left while his right index finger formed lazy circles on the table. It wasn’t until her eyes met his that she gasped.

“Calls himself _Father_ Blackwood. I asked him what religion but he simply pressed a finger to his lips and gave me a good shhhh. He told me if I had any more questions to attend service tomorrow evening at the old church by the lake.”

She turned her head, “Hasn’t it been abandoned for years?”

He shrugged, “I guess the Church of Shush is taking over. Oh…look at that. It seems he’s got his eye on you. He seems to be a silent recruiter but as I said. The triple bourbon is calling.”

Alexys felt her heart beating so hard inside of her chest she was sure it was louder than the juke box. The power of the man’s eyes seemed to beckon her forward and, almost without her control, she stood from the stool until another body bumped into her. The spell broken. She sat back and looked up as a man apologized profusely.

“It’s fine, it’s fi—”

“Smellpan?”

“Spellma…” Alexys’ eyes lifted up to meet the eyes of the man that had bumped into her. It was none other than Johnny Cash, Professor Smythe, the Ninth Doctor.

At Cerberus Alex and Luke continued their evening with laughter and secrets. Two bottles of wine sat at the table while their plates of food sat enjoyed but not completed. Luke looked off beyond Alex in disbelief as he rested his elbow on the top of the booth, propping his head up.

“You know, Spellman, I just…you get the deepest things out of me. I set this night out to be supportive to _you_ and here I am telling you how I pissed the bed until I was eleven,” he finished off the rest of his wine as if to punctuate his sentence.

Alex laughed at his reaction, shaking his head. His face had already turned the signature red it got whenever he drank but Luke’s insistence that it was adorable and the many glasses of wine he drank helped him to forget it, “Hey, I had my own issues growing up. I like knowing about you though. I want to hear anything you’ll tell me.”

“What about the fact that you’re the only person I can let my guard down with?” he began to take on a serious tone.

“What about Nick?” Alex had memories of them being close.

“He’s my friend, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t exactly sing in the car together,” he refilled Alex’s glass of wine and grabbed the water left on the table for himself, “You let me…be me. I don’t know how to explain it. I’m around you and I feel…disarmed. Like I can be vulnerable around you. It’s not just the singing either. It’s the way you look at me. No one…no one looks at me like you do.”

Somewhere in the middle of the evening Alex decided even if _this_ wasn’t real it was the reality he chose. He wanted to be Alexander Spellman dating Luke Chalfant and attending Greendale Community College. He reached his hand over to hold onto Luke’s as if to remind himself that his solid fingers meant actuality.

“You make me feel strong and weak at the same time,” Luke let go of Alex’s hand so that he could hold the back of his head in a comforting manner, “I don’t know what I’d do if something bad happened to you. I know we’ve been together for a little while now but it feels like we’re meeting each other for the first time. I feel like I’m truly meeting the real you. I don’t want what we have to end, Alex. I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” Alex was firm in his promise, “I’m right here with you. I don’t want to lose any of this either. You mean…so much to me. You make me feel so safe, and appreciated, and taken care of. Especially at a point in my life when I feel like the floor is being ripped out from under me.”

Luke stroked Alex’s neck with his thumb, a deep and haunting expression on his features, “Everything does seem to be changing. I feel like everything I was secure about is slipping out between my fingers. I guess that’s another motivation for this dinner tonight. I want to make sure we’re on the same page. I want to make sure you still feel the same way about me.”

“Oh…” Alex blushed brightly as he looked at the man, “I definitely do. Especially after hearing you hit that high note in Temporary Love? Oh, I am in it for the long haul.”

Luke laughed as he leaned in for a kiss. Alex jumped closer to complete the moment, moving his hand to tenderly touch Luke’s delicious jawline. There was something about the connection, about the touch, about the intimacy that brought shivers throughout Alex as nothing ever had before. He had felt it the night before when they had “done it”, as Alexys liked to say, but in the booth at the back of Cerberus was much different. There were brief, flittering memories of lovers from the past and even the Doctor and the terror on his face as they arrived to Greendale but Luke’s touch made him feel completely safe and he did not want it to end.

Luke pulled away then, as if he could hear Alex’s thoughts, and sighed as he looked deep into Alex’s eyes, “Alex…”

He felt his heart drop.

“I have something for you.”

“Oh…that was _not_ what I thought you were going to say,” Alex laughed it off but there was still a sensation of worry taking him over.

Luke smiled, pulling back in the booth so that he could reach for something in his pocket. Alex took the time to take another bite of his grilled cheese and to drink the freshly poured wine. Luke seemed to wrestle with something but suddenly it was free and he smiled, “Aha, here.”

“What is it?” Alex asked before opening his hand to receive it.

“It’s a pocket knife. It’s been in my family for generatio— no, it doesn’t open how you’d think. Tradition says that when you are in the greatest danger it’ll open and know exactly what to do. Otherwise it won’t work,” Luke smiled.

Alex was amazed. The design of the pocket knife was unlike anything he had seen. From what he could tell it seemed to be framed in gold Koftgari and inlaid with some sort of ivory or bone. It was designed with blue and white stripes that made it look like an ocean and at the edges of the knife it had detailed designs of stars and odd constellations Alex had never seen before.

He shook his head as he looked to the blue eyed man, “Luke, I don’t know what to say. This is beautiful. I…I don’t know if I can accept this.”

“Please,” his eyes seemed to gleam and looking into them Alex realized the blue of the pocket knife watched the blue of his eyes, “I need to know that you’re safe and I trust this to do the job. Just hold onto it for a little while. If I need it…I’ll ask for it back.”

“Okay,” Alex nodded, kissing him once again before resting his head against his shoulder, “This has been one of the best evenings I’ve had in my entire life.”

Luke wrapped his arm around Alex’s shoulders and held him tight, “I’m glad.”

“Hello! Your server has left for the evening so I’ll be takin’ over from here on. Would you like any dessert?”

“Can we just get this wrapped up, I think we’re gonna head out,” Luke smiled.

“Right, right. Are you sure you don’t want anything else…”

The blonde looked to Alex who was suddenly frozen in Luke’s hold as he gazed at the woman he knew to be Rose Tyler and squeaked out a hard to believe, “I’m fine.”

At the Blue Moon Tavern Alexys sat opposite of the Ninth Doctor with her water before her and two empty glasses of some British drink before him. The two laughed over the din of the bar, enjoying each other’s company. Alexys shook her head as she motioned toward the flyer she had pulled from her pocket long ago, “I cannot believe _this_ is supposed to be a flyer for an Astronomy Club.”

“I don’t know. The students in the group know I wanted to entice new members with its mystery and location. Who knows, it might’ve worked if you had kept it up!”

Alexys smirked as she leaned slightly over the table, “And risk losing this one on one time? I don’t think so.”

A deep blush set in the man’s features that she very much enjoyed. Father Blackwood had left who knew how long ago but Alexys did not care. She had the Doctor in her hands for the first time in what felt like centuries. She did not want to let him go.

“Oh, sorry,” she grinned as she sat up straighter, “Am I being inappropriate again?”

The man shook his head as he tried to keep a straight face, “Very, but I’ll allow it. You are the only person to show up this evening. I will say I’m disappointed by the other members. They typically never miss a meeting. I even have a cool ‘members only’ gift I was planning on giving out.”

“Ohhh! What is it? I’m totally a member now,” she beamed happily.

“I don’t know…so far you’ve only been to one meeting,” he looked her over with playful deliberation.

“Oh please, Professor, I’ll do anything.”

Once again his face went bright and he motioned toward one of the waiters, “I’ll have another drink, please!”

Alexys laughed, “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“Oh, I don’t…uh…I don’t do this…honestly,” all pretense of joking or flirting or teasing was gone.

“Get drinks with students?” she questioned.

“Yeah,” he chuckled nervously before shaking his head and looking to her, “No…I. The flirting…I don’t. I keep very professional boundaries and yet…”

“Do you want me to stop?” guilt washed over Alexys as she saw how much he fidgeted in his seat. She forgot that the Chameleon Arch changed the Doctor into someone completely different. She did not want to upset anyone with her forwardness.

“That’s the thing there,” he smiled to the waiter as he dropped the drink. He finished it off in one gulp before locking eyes with Alexys, “I don’t think I do.”

Alexys couldn’t help but to grin at that point, “Then I won’t.”

He took in a shaky breath as he drifted his fingers across the table to meet her right hand that held the ring that he had put on her left, “You’ve got a boyfriend, don’t you?”

“I…” her eyes grew wide as suddenly the whole world around her took shape again. She did have a boyfriend who she also liked very much named Nicholas Scratch who she had told to meet her at her house. But there was the _Doctor_ that she had married at the Sapphire Waterfall! She looked down with a completely red face as she looked pulled her hands back, “I don’t know what’s come over me…I guess I got caught up in the moment. I just…”

She paused in mid-sentence as she looked to him. For a moment there was something in his eye that reminded her of the Doctor but in an instant it was gone. In its place was a man suddenly growing sadder by each word she did and did not say.

Alexys sighed as she looked into his blue eyes, “I guess I just feel this weird connection with you. I forget where we are and most of all, I forget who I am. I came here looking for answers and now…I’m just even more confused. I’m sorry to put you through all this. It was really inappropriate of me.”

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. This has been the best night I’ve had in…oh, centuries,” he smiled before pulling something out of his bag, “Before I forget. This is the new members gift.”

Alexys’ eyes widened in amazement, “It’s beautiful!”

“You like?”

“I love!”

What the Professor held in his hand was a necklace with a raw natural sapphire in the shape of a crescent moon, rough and unsmoothed to preserve natural properties. She took it politely from his hands and fastened it around her neck as he smiled, “I thought it appropriate since we are the Blue Moon Astronomy Club.”

“Everyone is going to love it,” she said the words but doubted anyone would enjoy it as much as she did.

“I surely hope so. I guess that concludes our evening?” he looked almost disappointed.

“Well…why don’t we end the night with a dance?”

A blush crept into his face once again, “A dance? Oh…I don’t know. I’m not much of a dancer.”

“But I am!” she grinned as she stood from the booth and extended her hand, “Follow me!”

He looked to her hand then looked to her eyes and nodded, “Alright, can’t hurt.”

She lead him to the center of the makeshift dance floor just as the song changed. A slow, tender melody took over which prompted Alexys to place her hand as high up on his shoulder as she could while he took her other hand and placed his fingers high on her waist. Slowly they began to move and Alexys couldn’t help but close her eyes and imagine this to be the reception she never got to the wedding.

_“Strangers in the night, exchanging glances wond’ring in the night. What were the chances. We’d be sharing love before the night was through?”_

Perhaps it was the lyrics but something in the man seemed to soften and his hand moved lower to her hip while the other gripped her fingers tenderly. She risked a glance up at him only to see his eyes shut too, sinking into the moment. Her face grew warm as she watched him and remembered how she had seen that look in many positions before.

_“Something in your eyes was so inviting. Something in your smile was so exciting. Something in my heart told me I must have you.”_

His arm moved to tighten around her, bringing her body closer, as she leaned her face against his chest and listened for that familiar double heartbeat.

_“Strangers in the night, two lonely people we were strangers in the night.”_

Before she knew what was happening he took her hand and twirled her away then back to him so that her back was to his chest and he was holding her in his arms as they looked into each other’s eyes.

_“Up to the moment when we said our first hello.”_

He spun her out once again so they were facing each other, this time both his hands on her hips and holding her closer while both her arms wrapped around his neck. Their noses just moments from touching as they locked eyes.

_“Little did we know. Love was just a glance away a warm embracing dance away.”_

The ringing of Alexys’ phone caused her to jump and pull away. She looked and saw it was Nick but more importantly saw the time as 10:05 pm. She shook her head as she looked to the Professor, “I am so sorry but I have to go.”

“Of course,” a heavy sigh left him as he suddenly turned back into the professional, “I will see you tomorrow at Greendale.”

She nodded in return, “I will see you then.”

She turned to leave but stopped.

“Oh, by the way…”

He paused to look at her, longing caught in his eyes, “Yes?”

Alexys couldn’t help but to smirk, “You’re a _fantastic_ dancer.”

“Well, I had a fantastic partner.”

It was her turn to blush. She said her goodbye then rushed to the door. On her way she paused, noticing that one of the patrons was using their right index finger to draw lazy circles just as Father Blackwood had. The ringing of her phone caught her attention and she dismissed the idea all together.

She had Nick waiting for her but also…she _had_ to talk to Alex!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

“Ahhhhh!” Alexys screamed for the hundredth time during the story of Alex and Luke, “And then what happened after you saw Ro—Dolly?”

Since it was a Wednesday, Alex and Alexys went into Greendale later than Luke and Nick which gave them plenty of time to dish on the events of the evening.

“Nothing! She packed up our food then we left! She had no memory of me. Not even a flicker of recognition. And everyone else seemed to think she’s been working there for at least a year,” Alex pulled his glasses off so he could rub his hands over his face, “What is going _on_? Also how _DARE_ you break our promise?”

“Now, now. I kept the promise and was not reckless at a—”

“No! You were totally reckless and might I repeat,” he leaned in with that expression he used when he was coming from a place of been-there-done-that, “Playing with fire!”

“I know!” she cried out, collapsing backward onto her bed.

“What did you tell Nick?” Alex grew serious.

“I told him everything!”

“Everything?!”

“Not everything, everything!” she scoffed, offended that Alex would think she could diverge such serious details, “But I told him about flirting with Professor Smythe and losing track of time and how I didn’t know what came over me!” 

“What did he say?”

“He said the Blue Moon’ll do that to you and that he appreciates my honesty even though he is hurt by my actions. He wants to spend quality time together at the Bonfire to help mend what has been fissured,” she sat up again with a sigh, “I’ve never been in this position before. I really like Nick. I mean…he’s a total babe but Professor Smythe?”

“Why do you keep calling him that?” Alex was curious. Before the evening she had referred to him as the Doctor or by codename but suddenly she exclusively referred to him as the Professor.

“Alex…it’s not him. It’s not the Doctor…I…I can just tell. He doesn’t act like him, he’s shy and nervous and kind of nerdy? I don’t know! And he drank a _lot_ in a short amount of time and it was…adorable. He was flustered! He was definitely not the Doctor,” she took a pause before continuing, “Whatever scared Waylon must have been really bad.”

“Yeah, I was thinking about that,” Alex looked down at the pocket knife in his hand, “I was also thinking that…I want this to be real.”

“What do you mean?” she furrowed her brows.

“I just…this is Luke from a TV show. And the Doctor from a TV show, I don’t know,” tears welled up in his eyes, “I want it to be real so bad.”

“Oh, Alex,” she leaned forward and hugged him, “It feels real, it sounds real, it smells real, it tastes real, it looks real. I…I want it to be real too. And I think it is.”

“Well…if it’s real you have to make a real decision. In the past I’ve been known to juggle a few people around but this is different. My loyalty is to _you_ buuuut I know you. I know keeping them on the line will only hurt you in the long run,” Alex sighed, looking at Alexys with a genuine desire to assist her, “Is it Nick or Professor Smythe?”

Alexys groaned as she flopped backward onto the bed. She was quiet as she considered what her heart told her and how her body responded to that. With Professor Smythe it was so easy, it was so sweet, it was so hot but part of that was because of her history with the Doctor. Her hand moved to her wedding ring that had moved to her right hand. They had gotten married at the Sapphire Falls and they had promised it was until his next regeneration. She had placed that clause specifically because she knew of what would occur with Rose and River and she _wanted_ that to happen for him, for them! With Nick…with Nick it felt so right. They just fit into pieces and even when he looked at her with such sadness and heartbreak…

Even when she tried to rationalize it for herself she couldn’t. She had known the Doctor longer in “real time” but had known Nick longer in “Greendale time.” She had memories of knowing him for years although she had been implanted only recently. But there were still Nick’s dark brown eyes that welled with ache as he listened to her words. The pain he felt was so genuine and his arms around her were so real and the words he spoke came from a _real_ place. There was a spark in his eyes that promised there was a future with Nick that there could never be with the Doctor. That fact plus all the feelings of right and belonging and safety and acceptance she felt with Nick answered the question itself.

“I think if it comes down to it…I pick Nick,” Alexys sat up to look at Alex. She could almost imagine a grey box with the words “You Picked Nick” as if it were one of their Choices games.

Alex placed a hand on her shoulder, “You don’t have to decide now. Especially since we don’t know what is real and what isn’t.”

“And especially when there is so much going on!” She huffed.

“Right! We have to figure out what’s up with the Highway Men and also…where’s Hicks?” he voiced the biggest concern in his heart, “I don’t know what I’d do if she got hurt in the middle of all of this I mean…she’s _alone_.”

“Oh, Alex!” tears began to form for Alexys as well. She hugged him tighter, “Even though I don’t like Willie, the code name not the actual musician you know I love him, I trust what he says. How many times did he and Amy and Rory sneak away in the middle of a party only to return as if nothing happened? Just a change of clothes? The same thing will happen. PLUS, the Tardis is sentient. I truly believe she is giving Hicks all the TLC she can handle. Hicks probably has no clue what’s going on and the Tardis is making those hologram thingies of you and the Doctor playing catch with her or something.”

“Do you think?” Alex looked to her with hope in his eyes.

Alexys nodded with absolute certainty, “I know. Oh…and what do you think the deal with Father Blackwood is? Wasn’t that so weird?”

“Yeah…do you think he’s magical or alien or something? Why were you drawn to him?”

“Honestly,” she blushed, “I think it was just pure animal magnetism. I never thought he was all that hot in the show but in person? I…”

Alex shook his head.

“I AM INCREDIBLY SUSCETIBLE TO PERSUASION. YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT ME!”

“Not judging, not judging!”

They laughed together, finding some peace in the moment they shared.

“We need a plan,” Alex became serious again.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well…Dorian mentioned a service tonight and the church isn’t far away from the Bonfire. One of us should leave the Bonfire to check it out,” Alex offered.

“I’ll g…” Alexys remembered the conversation they had _just_ had, “You go.”

“Yeah, I’ll go,” they sealed their agreement with a double tap, “What should our game plan for today be? I think you should stay away from Professor Smythe.”

“Agreed,” Alexys frowned, “Ugh…but he’s so cute!”

Alex looked to her with the expression he had whenever she mentioned anything about him being attractive, “I gotta tell you…I don’t see it but I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you for your support,” she nodded once, “Now…if you don’t mind. I think I smell bacon. Let’s get breakfast!”

It was just as Alexys had expected.

In the kitchen Hilda hummed beautiful tunes as she placed the finished dishes down for Alexys and Alex. Zelda sat with newspaper in hand and a coffee while Salem sat perched on the corner of the table beside her. Alexys nearly tripped, wondering how she could have forgotten the cat entirely. She opened her arms for the black feline to jump and he landed perfectly against her chest. She began to coo and pet him as he purred against her.

Alex took the seat and sat patiently, drinking a specially made smoothie that waited beside his breakfast, “Thank you so much, Auntie. Everything looks and smells delicious. Also this smoothie? It’s the best I’ve ever had! Do I taste hints of ginger?”

Hilda danced her way to the table to place a gentle kiss to the top of his head, “That’s my brilliant, Alexander. I added a smidge to help with that tummy of yours. By the way…was that Luke and Nicholas I heard leaving early this morning… _again_?”

Both Alex and Alexys looked up to her with wide eyes and blushing faces. Alex took another sip of the smoothie then looked down to his eggs, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I already gave them the speech yesterday, Hilda. They are well aware the splendors of safe sexual intercourse,” Zelda move the newspaper slightly so she could comfortably smoke her cigarette. “I am very fond of Nicholas and Lucas. I was afraid these two would turn into Great Aunt Theodosia and Great Uncle Philip.”

Memories of the two distant relatives came to Alex and Alexys. They were brother and sister that had lived on the land many generations ago. The two never married but did end up setting the house on fire and died in the flames. What was left of their remains slept buried in the family plot in the backyard.

Alexys used one hand to hold Salem while the other reached for a piece of bacon, “Well, _I’m_ not having sexual intercourse.”

“You’re having sexual something,” Alex mumbled under his breath.

Alexys shot him a warning look before looking to the Aunties, “Besides. Was that Professor Smith I heard leaving very, _very_ late last night?”

Zelda dropped the newspaper briskly to give her own warning look.

“Just kidding, Auntie,” she squeaked out before taking a sip of orange juice.

“How did you two meet anyway?” Alex questioned out of pure curiosity but also in the hopes that it would give them some clues.

Zelda gave a small laugh at the memory, “The bank of all places. It happens to be his first time in the United States and he was having an awful time understanding the poor bank teller. I intervened to assist the both of them with some translations and he invited me for tea. The rest, as they say, is history.”

Alex and Alexys shared glances toward each other, “What’s he like?”

“He’s…rather silly. The most mundane things confuse him. Never been married, no children to speak of, dedicated to his craft. He is an avid lover of music and very skilled with his hands.”

“Hey-O!” Alexys shouted while Alex teased, “I bet he is!”

“Not in that manner, you children,” she swatted at them with her newspaper, “He is the one that fixed the leak in the sink. He also is a fantastic chef. He’s overall an incredible gentleman though…a bit dull to converse with on anything he doesn’t find passion for.”

“Interesting.”

“What about you Aunt Hilda, what are you up to these days? Anyone you’re on the lookout for?” Alexys teased, recalling Dr. Cerberus and their eventual love affair.

“Well…I have chatted once or twice with my own gentleman. He’s been in Greendale for quite some time but we’ve only just began talking now that I’m in charge of the bake sale. He’s a professor,” she blushed.

Alex and Alexys immediately locked eyes. Alex mouthed the words ‘don’t’ but it was too late, “Oh, Professor Smythe? He and his husband are _so_ cute together.”

“Husband?” her face fell slightly. “I reckon he said he was single after his _divorce_.” 

“They’re on and off but trust, they will always be back on,” Alexys did her best to put on an angel face despite Alex whispering that she was evil. “What about Dr. Cerberus? I saw him giving you the _eye_ last time we were in?”

“The evil eye!” she grabbed some salt and threw it behind her shoulder, hitting one of the pots on the stove and making a small burst of flame.

“No, no! The sexy eye. Like he thinks you’re hot!” Alexys corrected.

“Oh…I don’t know about that,” Hilda blushed.

“I mean it, right Alex!”

“Don’t bring me into this one,” he mumbled, expertly eating the whites of the eggs and leaving the yolk intact.

“Well, I do have to go into the bookstore today,” she mumbled to herself, suddenly lost in thought, “Look at the time! Eat up you two! You must be on your way!”

Alexys guided Salem to the ground so that she could dig into her breakfast properly while Alex began smashing the yolks. They talked with their Aunts happily, domestically, peacefully about life in Greendale and the events they would be having for Yule. There was promise of inviting Nick and Luke and Hilda even promised to help Alexys bake something for the school staff. It was a lovely morning held by lovely people.

By the time school came around it was a far different affair. Nick was still sensitive over the flirting with the Professor while Alex and Luke were happily (and adorably) intertwined. Once again Alex had a printed out copy of the schedule with Alexys’ written in tiny scrawl in the margins. Their day was mostly filled with classes that neither could pay attention to with the possibility of the end of the universe on the horizon. Every free second they had they spent discussing what was to come of the Bonfire.

It wasn’t until they had a free block that they decided to canvas the Community College. Together they walked through the hallways and into the study rooms searching for clues or suspicious people. Along their path they met interesting characters that they had to force themselves to not shout at.

All in all it seemed to be a walk down memory lane. They saw the setting of their favorite scenes and reenacted their favorite moments. There were lots of their handshake and lots of laughs that they enjoyed. For a moment it was as if they were visiting the set of a show, not at the center of it. That was until a blaring guitar riff blasted through the hallway from a music room down the hall.

“What is that?” Alex asked with his face scrunched up in disapproval.

“Ten bucks says it’s Kris Kristofferson,” there was excitement bubbling inside of Alexys she could not contain.

Again there was the disapproving noise from Alex that he did not bother to hide, “Egh, let’s get out of here.”

“Oh…but I kinda want to check it out. I mean…” she looked down the direction the sound came from and did her own air guitar to it, “…music”

“You can definitely go but I want to keep looking this way,” he pointed off toward the right, “Meet you back here with updates?”

She nodded happily then gave him a hug, “Alright, see you soon!”

Alexys nearly skipped to the sound of the high pitched squealing of the guitar solo. When she turned into the classroom she was happy to see she was right. The Twelfth Doctor stood at the center of an empty music room with an electric guitar and an amp as his only companions. She paused, listening to the music he created while her arrival was still masked. Though she knew he wasn’t exactly the same man as before she was still eager to learn from him.

When he finally finished she stepped into the room, “Are you taking requests?”

He jumped in surprise, nearly tripping over the amp that was solid behind him, “Oh! Didn’t, I didn’t see you there. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“I’ve got about an hour free. I heard you playing and thought I’d join you. That sounded really cool! Did you make that yourself?” she moved to sit in one of the empty desks positioned in a half circle around him.

“Uhh…no,” he looked to the guitar then up to her, “A Black Sabbath original. What…where’s your cousin?”

“Oh, he’s doing his own thing,” Alexys smiled again, “So…are you taking requests?”

It didn’t take Alex long to find _anything_ more interesting than listening to the Twelfth Doctor playing his guitar. As he walked out into the open, chilly air he caught sight of the Eleventh Doctor in a suspiciously hurried pace wearing a floppy elf hat. His hand fingered the silver watch in his pocket as he took off to follow the erratic steps. He made sure not to follow too close or lag behind too far but the near sprint/walk the Doctor was in seemed as if he were being chased.

The Eleventh Doctor rounded a corner and as Alex moved to follow he slammed into another body in front of him.

“Oh God!” the man screamed as flyers flew in all directions.

“I am so sorry!” Alex shouted, helping the individual who he had collided with. He scrambled as quickly as he could to grab the flyers from the air and then from the floor. Even while helping he shuffled forward to catch sight of the Doctor around the corner but he was gone.

Disappointment consumed him but he turned the energy toward helping none other than the Dean in an Anna costume who shouted, “She is _going_ to _kill_ me!”

“I am so sorry!” Alex repeated, taking the stack of flyers he had and handing it to the Dean.

He grabbed them and continued snatching more from the ground, “She does not like _creases_! These have _creases_!”

“Wh—”

For the first time in all the chaos Alex looked at the flyer in his hand.

“peace comes at a cost

But not for you

Church of Stillhet

Tonight During the Bonfire at the Old Church”

“Church of Stillhet?” Alex questioned out loud.

The Dean snatched the flyer from Alex’s fingers then froze. It seemed to Alex the Dean had not seen who he had bumped into until that very moment and the discovery it was Alex brought a whole new layer of fear into him, “Uh…it’s a _new_ Church opening up here in Greendale and you know what they say about equal opportunity!”

“Interesting. Do you know the people in charge of this? You said a woman?” Alex questioned with genuine interest.

“Oh, it’s boring, boring stuff,” he waved dismissively, “I know you and the Spellmans prefer your…traditions. I’ll be on my—”

“Is Father Blackwood the head of Church Stillhet?”

The Dean turned into a statue the way deer do when confronted with danger.

“I only ask because I’m looking to branch out. I heard there was a service tonight and I’d really like to attend,” Alex tried to think of anything that would make the Dean speak again, “What should I wear?”

“Black,” the word popped out of the Dean’s mouth as if he were jumped started, “They are very austere, wear all black, not a lot of humor but they certainly know how to wear the _hell_ out of a suit and tie.”

“They? So it’s more than just Father Blackwood?”

His eyes jumped in all directions as he backed away, “I…I better get going.”

“Why are you helping them?” Alex shot the question out before the Dean ran off.

He spoke his words with careful steps away but Alex continued to follow closer, “I may or may not have been spotted with a group of Dalmatians walking into a bar at Atlantic City,” he paused, “There’s a joke in there.”

“Yeah, the joke is you.”

It was Alex’s turn to freeze as his eyes went up, and up, and up to Jeff Winger that had stepped behind them, “Jeff!”

Annie’s voice scolding Jeff was what made Alex jump to life. Britta was soon to follow as she took one of the flyers, “I think it’s nice of you to help promote a new religion at this time. I, myself, am an atheist but I find no harm in expanding one’s mind to new thoughts and ideologies.”

“Please, it’s another Greendale Scam,” Jeff huffed, grabbed Britta’s flyer and crumbling it into a ball, “Or haven’t you noticed we’ve had a bake sale _every day_ for the past three months.”

“That has nothing—,” the Dean’s voice was a squeak in the presence of Jeff but at the sound of his own voice he quickly stood straighter and made his voice more baritone, “That has nothing to do with the Church of Stillhet, Jeffrey. I encourage all _three_ of you to attend with open minds.”

“I want to go,” Alex interjected.

“Won’t be necessary, Mr. Spellman, but appreciate the support!”

“Wai—!”

It was too late. The Dean was gone.

“What was that all about?” Jeff asked, looking to Alex and then the others.

Alex wondered if the Church was against _him_ or against the _Spellmans_ in general, “I have no idea.”

“Wait,” Britta looked to Alex with fury in her eyes, “You’re the head of the student board for the LGBT Community. Do you think they’re discriminating against you because of it?”

“That would be just so terrible!” Annie exclaimed in horror.

“Guys…wait. It’s the _Dean_ ,” Jeff motioned to where he had scampered down the hall. The silence of everyone made him roll his eyes, “The _Dean_ that has not stopped trying to sleep with me since I crossed the Greendale threshold. The Dean who’s reply to speculation of him being gay was that it was an ‘over simplification.’ How could he discriminate against the LGBT community if he’s part of it?”

“It’s fine,” Alex began to suspect it had to do more with him being ‘Spellman’ and wanted to find Alexys quickly to figure out what that could mean, “I’m just going to go find my cousin.”

“Nonsense! You do not have to face this great injustice alone,” Britta placed her hands on Alex’s shoulder, “We will find a way to make the Dean pay for his prejudice!”

Though Alex was a fan of Britta, he shied away and continued to step down the hall he had seen the Doctor flee through, “It’s really okay. I’m fine.”

“Well, we’re walking in that direction too. Do you want to join us to the Cafeteria?” Annie offered with those massive blue eyes.

Alex considered running back to Alexys but those big blue eyes distracted him and all he could do was melt into a yes, “Sure, I think my Aunt Hilda is in charge of the bake sale anyway. I should go say hi.”

“Perfect!” Britta shouted, once again placing her arm around Alex’s shoulders, “We were just discussing our friends’ obsession with Inspector Spacetime. Have you heard of it?”

Complete seriousness took over the man as he looked at the three members of the Study Group, “I have been waiting for this question my whole life.”

Alex spent the rest of the period hanging out with the three from the group, introducing them to Hilda, and discussing more details of the new Church. He found out useful information about the school including the unexpected absence of Professor W, the Blackwoods, and the death of the Glee club which forced the school to find a new Professor of Music. The mention of the music reminded Alex that he had to find Alexys to tell her about what he had learned before the Bonfire. 

“Thunderstruck! Thunderstruck! Thunderstruck! Thunderstruck!”

Alex watched as The Twelfth Doctor and Alexys jammed in the center of the music room. Their eyes were shut behind thick sun glasses as they danced wildly. He casually pulled out his own cell phone and began recording until the end of the song.

“That was great, Professor Smith!” Alexys hooted.

“You really think Zelda will like us playing this during Yule?” the Doctor played a few notes from the opening riff.

“She is going to lo— Alex!” Alexys shouted, quickly hiding the microphone behind the back.

“Yeah…there’s no pretending this didn’t happen.”

“Don’t show Zelda! We haven’t perfected it yet!” The Doctor shouted.

Alex laughed, “Oh, trust me. I don’t think it can get any better than this.”

Alexys shook her head and said her goodbye to Professor Smith before joining Alex in the hall, “What’d you find?”

“You’re not going to believe this…” he looked down pensively.

“What?”

“I hung out with Jeff, Annie, and Britta!” the joy radiated off of each word.

“I’ll kill you.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” she grinned, “I am so happy for you! Totally not jealous! What were they like? What happened? Did you all like make out or something?”

“What? No!” Alex grinned, enjoying the jealousy that took over Alexys, “But I did get some information.”

“Like what?”

“Well the biggest thing is that Professor W—”

“That Willie Nelson is substituting for?” Alexys asked.

Alex nodded a confirmation, “—mysteriously vanished around the time we came to town. Another thing is the Blackwoods are originally from Greendale. The head of the family passed away a few weeks ago and now their son has returned after years of travelling. He’s…apparently always been weird and into spooky stuff.”

“That is interesting…” Alexys trailed her eyes down the hallway as if in thought then looked to Alex, “I’m sorry but I can’t stop thinking about how you hung out with Jeff, Annie, _and_ Britta? What!”

Alex laughed and shared more details about the event. Before they knew it they lost track of time and had to scramble to their English class with the Eleventh Doctor. His back was to them, writing on the chalkboard, as they snuck into two open seats at the back of the room.

“Late!”

The two held their breath.

He continued to write on the board as he shouted, “Mr. Spellman! Ms. Spellman! I knew it would be quite a challenge having the both of you in one class but I had much higher hopes for you.”

“I—”

“No need for explanation!” he whirled around to face them, his eyes meeting Alex’s, “Oh…come on, Alexander. Her I expect but you? You’re better than this.”

“Hey!” she shouted.

“I’m sorry,” he squeaked.

She looked to Alex with fury in her face, “He is the _worst_!”


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

The calm sound of fire crackling against the bumping tunes of party music filled the air as the cherry red Buick Skylark pulled up to the Bonfire. Alex and Luke had been cozied up in the backseat with laughs and sighs while Alexys and Nick sat at arms-length with brief discussions on what was to come. The evening air had tinges of ambivalence as they exited the vehicle and joined each other to walk through the crowd.

Alex and Alexys surveyed the area with a watchful gaze.

The entire left side of the lake was surrounded by various Bonfires going on at the same time. Fake snow littered the ground while Christmas decorations accentuated each cluster of swaying Greendale residents. Every person had some form of holiday cheer that either incorporated bells or flashing lights which pulsed with every dance and bass drop.

The right side of the lake was a completely different affair. It was solemn, quiet with only the old Church in view with one or two cars visible. The lights were dim as if only candles were giving illumination.

Alex and Alexys glanced to each other with confirmation they had seen all sides of the lake. Before Nick and Luke arrived to pick them up the two had a deep discussion on their game plan—especially after the details of the strange encounter with the Dean. It was established that they would hang around the Bonfire for an hour then Alex would separate with Luke to the church. He agreed they would look around but not enter until they got more information on Father Blackwood and his no doubt nefarious plans. Alexys on the other hand would focus on doing her own recon (which meant finding any member of the Study Group to create her own experiences).

“Come on, let’s dance,” Luke grasped onto Alex’s mitten-clad hands with a grin on his face, already tugging.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Alex hesitated. His eyes followed the group of people dancing around one of the bonfires close to someone’s truck with loud speakers blaring.

Luke grabbed gently onto Alex’s face with his own mitten-ed hands, “Come on, handsome. I want to dance with you.”

“Oh…,” Alex looked to Alexys who encouraged him emphatically while no one could see her, “Alright, let’s go.”

A joyful whoop left Luke as he held Alex and gently pushed a way through the crowd for them. It seemed the overall party vibes of the evening had taken Luke over and filled him with excitement that was genuinely contagious. He danced in playful thrashes and spins and hip swivels that had Alex laughing with actual happiness. Alex joined him, doing the absolute best arm wave that anyone had seen and gathering his own level of attention. With Luke at his side Alex found it so incredibly easy to forget the plans to search around the Church.

It was so easy to forget how afraid he was that there was a terrifying big baddie out there that still remained unknown. It was so easy to forget that the Doctors were all scattered around Greendale trusting him and Alexys to figure out what was going on and keep them safe. It was so easy to forget that there were cracks and Time Fissures in the universe that threatened to destroy everything they knew. It was so easy to forget that what they knew was only 10% of what was actually occurring. It was so easy to forget that Luke and Greendale and the Bonfire were all an alternate universe that did not have Alex in it.

Luke grabbed onto Alex, holding him close as if he could read his mind. Alex found that his glasses amplified Luke’s natural beauty and staring so close made it such a pleasure to have the sight-enhancers. They gazed into each other’s eyes without a word between them. Yet, both could feel what was unspoken. The world, the noise, even the music faded away from around them until all that was left was their closeness and the sound of their breathing. It was beautiful.

Alexys watched from a distance as Nick walked off to grab them both a drink. She felt so much happiness seeing how good Luke treated Alex and how much he seemed to blossom under Luke’s gaze. Their tender moments were so genuine Alexys felt herself tearing up to watch them. She knew deep inside of herself that Alex deserved the love Luke gave him. He deserved it so much no matter where the universe split she knew Alex and Luke would be on the same side of it.

“Alexys, hello!”

A jolt of adrenaline or hormones or something exploded through Alexys as she looked up to see Professor Smythe in a Santa hat with his big ol’ ears poking out from under, “Hey, Professor.”

“When I saw your Aunts arrive without you I was afraid you wouldn’t make it.”

“Oh no, I’m here!” she smiled, thinking immediately of Nick and the fact that she had chosen _him_ and so could _not_ do anything with the Professor. But there was that blush, that heat, that electricity between them that she could not deny. The memory of their dance stood between them as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

He coughed slightly as he looked away, “May I ask where Mr. Scratch is? I was under the impression he would be escorting you this evening.”

“He went to get us something to drink,” Alexys scanned the crowd in search of him.

“Of course, ever the gentleman,” he spoke his words while his eyes seemed to scan the crowd for him as well.

“I, uh,” she motioned toward her own head, “Like the Santa Hat.”

“Oh this? Your Aunt Hilda gave it to me along with a tin of my favorite biscuits,” he grinned.

Alexys could not control how sour her face turned, “Oh…cool. She’s been in the holiday spirit these past few days. I mean is there _anyone_ she hasn’t given a hat and a tin of biscuits to? It’s almost like she’ll give them to _anyone_ like it’s not even special.”

“Is that right?” he chuckled, looking her over with a true smile that spread across his face so big it minimized his ears, “Well, she did make one for me and my…husband?”

She nearly choked, “Oh…your husband? Congratulations.”

“I don’t have a husband,” he smirked as he looked down at her, “But I’m sure you are well aware of that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she playfully pulled on her scarf, “Is it just me or is it getting hot out here?”

He laughed his genuine laugh, “Would it be so terrible if I asked your Aunt Hilda to accompany me for a stroll around the lake?”

“But you’re _married_ ,” she intended to have some cadence of a joke but it came out far more serious than she expected.

“And you are spoken for,” his tone matched.

Alexys looked down. He was right. She was being selfish and yet she couldn’t stand the thought of him being with anyone but her—even if it was her dear Aunt Hilda. She put on a brave face with a forced smile, “You’re right. You two would have a great time.”

His face fell then as if she provided the answer he was not expecting. There was a hint of sadness in his voice as he stepped away with a bow of his head, “I’ll be on my way then.”

“Professor,” she called out despite hearing Alex’s voice in her head.

He turned, “Yes, Ms. Smellpan?”

Though she was sure her cheeks were red because the cold she was certain her face turned scarlet. She let a small smirk cross her features, “I hope I’ll be seeing some of your moves this evening.”

“Only if I am joined by my favorite dance partner.”

She opened her mouth to reply but Nick’s voice cut her off, “Sorry it took so long. Is this okay?”

She took the red solo cup and took a sip to find it was Coke, “It’s perfect.”

Professor Smythe was gone and they were left in silence.

Alex had seen the whole situation play out from the distance. A group of Luke’s friends had joined their little dance party which was fine but it made Alex feel a little less like dancing. He continued his little shuffle while watching Alexys blow up her life. There was an instinct for him to help her but once Nick returned to her he knew it was best for them to talk alone. She had to decide for herself who she truly wanted to give her heart and time to while they searched for what was going on.

“Alex!”

He turned his head up to see Luke was walking away from the crowd and motioning for him to follow, “Come here!”

Confusion filled him as he grabbed Luke’s extended hand. A spark met Alex as their gloved hands touch that shocked him enough to nearly let go but Luke squeezed his fingers, keeping them connected. It was such a subtle thing but for Alex it made his heart swell.

It wasn’t until they were far off to the edges of the Bonfire that Luke stopped and turned to Alex, “Come on, I wanna show you something.”

“Okay,” Alex chuckled at the spontaneous nature of Luke that always seemed to excite him. He followed the man through the chilly air along the lake until they were all alone near the dock at the boatshed. “What do you want to show me?”

“It’s a secret,” Luke grinned as he opened the door to the boatshed and felt around the inside wall for a light.

A chill ran through Alex as he waited, looking back over the lake toward the fires that burned hot enough to keep the party goers warm. Though he loved being with Luke there was doubt that anything in the boatshed would be as welcoming as the warmth in the crowd. Alex reminded himself that he had gone to college in Maine and survived below zero winters and if he survived that he could survive waiting for Luke’s surprise.

“I’ve got it!” Luke shouted triumphantly as the light switched on and when it did Alex gasped.

“Luke!” Alex shook his head, stepping inside so that Luke could shut the door behind him to block out the cold.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it!”

Though it still remained a boatshed the inside was decorated like a dream come true. The canoes and kayaks were all pushed against the walls and along them hung Christmas lights. At the center sat piles and piles of warm blankest with two thermoses that no doubt contained something delicious. Facing away from them was a projector that clicked on when the lights did and waited to be channeled to the right program. Red rose petals circled around the blankets with an inviting hand.

Alex shook his head as he looked to Luke, “I don’t…I don’t understand. Why?”

Luke placed his hand behind Alex’s head again as he looked into his eyes, “Because you deserve it, Alex. Because you deserve good things all the time and when the world doesn’t remember I do.”

It was overwhelming the appreciation Alex felt for Luke and the whole scene. It was beautiful, it was unbelievable, it was so much. Fear snapped into him suddenly. It was fear that Luke was playing a cruel trick on him or that the universe was going to collapse any moment as proof that this was all a fantasy. It was fear that he would wake up on the sofa in the Air B&B as if none of the adventures he experienced were true.

“Come on, let’s sit down,” Luke encouraged, tugging Alex along.

Alex followed though the fear remained. It remained and seemed to get stronger as they took their place at the center of the blankets. Luke handed him the thermos and he was happy to feel the warmth even through his mittens but he was still shaking.

“What’s wrong?” Luke pulled his mitten off to caress Alex’s face.

He opened his mouth to reply but couldn’t think of an answer. He didn’t know how to vocalize the fear when memories of incredible moments being tarnished by reality came crashing down on him. Alex didn’t know how to express his fear that Luke was too good and this was too perfect and it was too unreal. There were no words to explain how vulnerable he made him when he was already so vulnerable already. All he could do was look into Luke’s eyes as if imploring him to please be the reality.

“Alex,” Luke looked to him with confusion, “Come here, come here. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Luke pulled Alex against his chest, holding him tight with the thermoses between them for an added layer of warmth. His strong arms were nearly suffocating but that was what Alex needed. He needed to be reminded that Luke was physical, solid, alive. He needed to hear his breath and feel the beating of his heart and the heat coming off of his body. He needed to know it was all real.

“Come on, talk to me,” Luke pleaded. “I’m here, I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

“I just…it’s all so good and,” Alex choked slightly but took in a deep breath and swallowed, “And I can’t take another heartbreak, Luke. I just can’t.”

“Is that it?” Luke pulled back with that sweet smile that made Alex feel foolish though not stupid, “Oh, Alexander. I’m not going anywhere. Alright? Get that through your head okay? I’m here. I’m here for you just as long as you’re here for me. No! I’m here longer. I’m here to always remind you how important you are. How good you are. How much greatness you deserve. This is real, Alex. Okay? Do you trust me?”

Alex nodded his head, looking into Luke’s eyes as he agreed, “I trust you.”

“You sure? You trust me?” he asked using a silly Greaser type voice.

Alex chuckled softly, “I trust you.”

“Good, trust me when I say this. I’m in it. Alright? I’m in it for good. You’re not getting rid of me. Okay? So when I do things like this for you…just know it’s my love language. You don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to be anything, you don’t have to solve anything. You just have to be you, okay? Who you are is the greatest thing I could ever hope for.”

“Why are you so good to me?” Alex let out a shaky breath.

Luke kissed the top of his head, “Because you deserve it and…and I think I met you for a reason. I could have flown by anyone else in the universe but I flew past you and I’ve been stuck on you ever since.”

“I’m stuck on you too,” Alex smiled.

“Good,” Luke held him tightly, pulling the remote for the projector from his pocket, “Now tell me, what do you want to watch?”

“Well, what are the options?” he grinned.

“Anything and everything, baby. Anything and everything.”

While Luke and Alex cozied up in the boatshed, Alexys and Nick swayed alone to music that took up the space of their silence. They sipped their drinks as they looked out to the many different clusters of people around the different bonfires. It was awkward. Alexys typically thrived in awkward situations but this was a different sensation she was not accustom to.

“It’s chilly,” she spat out after some time.

“Yeah, it is,” he sighed with his hand in his pocket.

His answer filled her with a sense of discomfort that made her nauseous. They were supposed to be mending their issues, not making them worse. In her past, Alexys had shied away from confrontation but in recent years she had learned to go head first into the situation regardless of how nervous she felt. She took the same approach with Nick as she turned on him and spat out, “Why don’t we sit in the car and talk?”

“Talk? About what?”

Frustration filled her at the sound of his denial. She narrowed her eyes on him and ordered, “Car. Now. Talk.”

There was a flash of something strange behind his eyes like a mix between panic and fear and something else she had no clue about. It seemed for a moment he would protest but instead he nodded and turned to guide her back to the Buick. When they entered he immediately turned on the heater and let the radio connect to his Bluetooth for music to play at a low volume.

Alexys was silent as she and Nick relaxed into the seats. She wanted to begin speaking immediately but the racing of her heart acted like a net to trap the words in her throat. There was a general idea of what she wanted to say. Somewhere in her bones there was an outline. Yet as she gazed at Nick who focused his eyes outside of the windshield…it was all lost.

Once again the reality of the situation hit her. If she were truly to consider the timelines of her life her time with Nick was much shorter than her time with the Doctor. But the Doctor wasn’t present. Instead of the Doctor there was the Professor that she could not help flirting with and who seemed to enjoy flirting back with her. She could not deny the raging jealousy she felt at the thought of Hilda kissing the man she had married. And yet…there would be plenty of people to kiss him—a Time Lord’s amount of people to kiss him.

And then there was Nick…

“Just say it,” he snapped suddenly, turning away so that she couldn’t see anything but the side of his face.

“Say what?” she was completely at a loss.

“I saw you. I saw you talking to Professor Smythe.”

A sigh escaped Alexys as she looked down, “Yeah? What’d you see?”

“I saw the smiling, the laughing, the flirting, the expression…I saw you look at him in ways you,” he swallowed, “You have never looked at me.”

Alexys didn’t know if that were true but she didn’t say anything to protest. Memories of sitting in cars with other boys floated backward to her but in a flip of positions. She seemed to have always been the one in Nick’s position. She had never been the one doing the flirting, been the one doing the hurting, been the one that was doing the assuaging. It was an odd role reversal she did not like.

“Listen…Alexys,” he took in deep breath and then turned his eyes on her.

A gasp nearly left her as she looked at him. Nick Scratch, the Nick Scratch, was crying.

“I know we haven’t been dating long. In the story of our lives our relationship is…is just a few pages in its first chapter. But for me it’s been a good few pages. For me it’s been the best few pages and the other night,” his eyes sparkled and Alexys blushed with knowledge of what he referred to, “The other night felt incredible for more than just what we did physically. It was the closest I felt to you…ever. We were vulnerable, we were open, we were _naked_!”

Alexys lowered her head slowly to cover her face with her hand though she kept her eyes trained on him.

He chuckled at her reaction, reaching his hand forward to grab hers so that her face was uncovered, “I want more of that. I want more of you. I don’t want to say this is something it’s not but give it a few more days and I believe it will be. The way I feel about you…”

Nick let go of her hand so he could wipe at his face and gather himself. He looked away again, not allowing himself to finish the rest of his sentence for the moment. Alexys felt herself twisting in her skin. She had been in situations when an individual was confessing their feelings but had trouble. In the past she always jumped the gun and finished the sentence for them or instead spoke as if she understood. This moment was different though. She wanted to wait.

“The way I feel about you…” he gathered his composure again to continue though still had trouble meeting her eye, “…I don’t understand. When I’m around you I feel like the best version of me. I feel like I can save the universe and you make me want to. And I never wanted to do that before. Since I laid eyes on you…you made me feel like all things were possible. Like I could be better than where I came from, like I could make you proud. But I see the way you look at him and I…”

“Nick,” she reached over to him but he pulled away.

“I see the way you look at him and it reminds me of how I look at you, Alexys,” he swallowed hard again, “I know we haven’t been together long. I know we’re still just getting to know each other. I know you’re still just learning to trust me. I know I have done nothing great or amazing. I know all you know about me is surface level but I want to go deeper. I want to let you in deeper and I want to go deeper with you. I’m not asking for forever but I want to share forever with you…So tell me. Tell me the truth. Is it me or him?”

Alexys was at a loss for words.

Nick seemed to understand the speechlessness and so he took her hands between his again, “Don’t answer right now. Think about it and…let me know. No matter what your answer is. I want you to know that I will still feel the same way about you. I’ll always save the universe when you’re around. Even if you have the Professor in your eyes.”

“Nicholas,” Alexys spoke his name in a whisper and he crossed the space between them so that they were only sentences apart.

“Yes?”

It was true that the memories she had were mostly fabricated by the Chameleon Arch. It was true that potentially everything was unreal and that included the Nicholas Scratch who’s warmth filled her at her core. It was true that the universe could come crashing down on top of them at any second and it was up to Alex and her to stop it or at least help the Doctor and Co. to stop it. It was true that try as she may…she doubted she would ever not be in love with the Ninth Doctor and that included who he was as the Professor.

But then there was Nick.

She looked at him, genuinely looked at him as if for the first time since she had arrived to Greendale. There was something so beautiful about him. It seemed he was radiating, shimmering from within but she knew it to be the changing colors of the stereo system fading between colors as the music played. For the first time she looked at him like a real person and not just a perk she got for arriving at Greendale and following the script. He was flesh and blood and he was asking her for honesty.

And when she asked herself for that same honesty it came to her in fragments. She looked at Nick and saw him as a person, a being, an individual deserving of loyalty and security and safety and happiness and joy and love…just like she did. In that moment she understood she could not hurt Nick. Not because he reminded her of herself but because he was a being that did not deserve to be hurt. She looked at him with love in his eyes and heart on his sleeves in the most vulnerable position a person could be and she felt nothing but love back.

“Nick…I choose you,”Alexys leaned forward to press her lips to Nick’s and when she did he responded with passion beyond belief. It was like kissing a tornado or hurricane and it filled her up from the inside out.

It felt like a fever melting the chill that had captured her and all she could think was: _We’re going to touch each other in the front seat of his car at a party!_

When the morning came it was clear that Alex and Alexys had not completed one part of their mission. The evening with Luke was filled with so much spiked cocoa and Star Trek that Alex had fallen asleep well before he was supposed to go spy on the Church of Stillhet. The fooling around Alexys and Nick did lead to cuddling after and then a deep hunger for food they had to acquire. By the time they returned to the Bonfire many of the participants were too drunk to hold a decent conversation and so Nick and Alexys spent the rest of the time fooling around in the car again and then falling asleep.

The sun had just begun to rise in the sky when Alex and Alexys woke with their respective partners.

Alex yawned a happy awakening as he looked to see Luke snoring gently at his side. He watched him for a few moments. It was amazing to see how attractive he looked even in the depth of slumber. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss to the man’s cheek. In his sleep a soft smile crossed Luke’s mouth. It was beautiful.

The birds chirping outside of the boatshed caught Alex’s attention. He looked toward the door and noticed the light coming through the cracks. In that moment his heart sank. He scrambled as quietly as he could to it and stepped outside to see that it was morning. Alex grabbed his glasses from the case safe in his pocket so he could scan the lake. His primary objective was to find the cherry red Buick or anything strange enough to convince Alexys he had followed through with the plan.

Yet when he looked around all he saw was the charred remains of where the Bonfire had been and small tents that had been set up for those planning to stay until dawn. Across the lake to the old church he watched people leaving one at a time dressed in all black. For a moment he was tempted to walk his way to the Church to peek inside still but it was too late.

He had failed.

“Alex,” the sound of sleepy Luke’s voice caught his attention, “Close the door, its cold.”

With a sigh he followed the direction and returned to the comfy blankets where Luke waited. Alex crawled back to the makeshift cocoon they created, “It’s morning. We should go back to my house…where I have an actual bed.”

“But I’m so cooooomfortable,” Luke groaned, reaching to curl up against Alex for warmth.

Alex laughed, holding him tightly in his arms, “Okay. We can stay for a little while longer but then we have to go.”

Luke had already returned to his soft snores.

Nick was awake before Alexys but did not move a muscle so that she could keep resting. When she finally sat up and yawned her good morning he stretched his sore body with a smile, “How’d you sleep?”

“I mean…” she blushed brightly as she looked at him, “It’s the deepest sleep I’ve ever had…”

“Good,” Nick chuckled, leaning forward so he could turn off the car and the heater, “I was thinking we could take a walk around the lake?”

Alexys smiled happily, “I would like that.”

The two exited the vehicle, bundling up in their winter apparel before walking toward each other and wrapping their arms around one another. Her eyes scanned the tents wondering which one Luke and Alex were holed up in. At some point in the night she had raised questions about where they could be but Nick promised that Luke had set up a very special evening for them that promised they were safe and warm.

Nick kissed the top of her head as he lead her toward the paved walking path around the lake, “Did you have any interesting dreams?”

Her eyes brightened at the question.

“I thought so,” Nick laughed, “Go on, tell me every detail.”

After another twenty minutes Alex felt the chill of the morning drifting into his cozy spot with Luke. He nuzzled the man with tender affection, “Luke…?”

His eyes flashed open as though he had been awake the entire time, “Yes?”

“Luke!” he laughed, “I thought you were sleeping!”

“I was...well, I was resting,” he smiled, “Want to get out of here?”

“Uh…yeah,” Alex shook his head at the man as he sat up, “I would also definitely like to go home and take a shower.”

“Is there room for two in that shower of yours?” Luke had already begun folding the blankets and putting them away in a basket Alex hadn’t noticed.

Alex chuckled and looked to Luke with seductive eyes, “There is _always_ room for two in that shower of mine.”

THUNK.

“What was that?” Alex looked to the top of the boatshed, wondering what could have hit the roof so hard.

Luke walked toward the door to gaze out, “Maybe hail or so—”

THUNK.

“That sounds a lot stronger than hail,” Alex moved to the door with him.

“I don’t know…fifty years ago Greendale had a sudden hail storm that was deadly. It seems possible,” he mumbled looking out with narrowed eyes. “Maybe it’s a—”

THUNK. THUNK. 

“Alex! Get back!”

Nick and Alexys held hands as they discussed the intricate and layered dream she had the night before. The air had grown suddenly so warm on their trek but neither felt any suspicion toward it. The scene around them was beautiful. The lake was quiet in the winter air. As they were cresting a small hill on the walking path they marveled at the tents surrounding the extinguished bonfires like medieval camps. The smell of a fresh morning made everything feel at peace. It was a lovely start to their day until Alexys felt a strange static in the air.

She paused in mid step.

“What’s wrong?” Nick looked around with concern.

“I don’t…” she paused, unable to describe the sudden feeling of anxiety overwhelming her and the fear she felt at the prospect of moving from her spot. “I…Do you feel that?”

BOOM.

A massive clap of thunder vibrated the heavens and earth with a shaking roar. Alexys and Nick jumped into each other’s arms with Nick on the outside cradling her head against him. The warmth of the morning turned into an unbearable heat as grey clouds surged through the sky to block out the rising sun.

“Come on! We need to run for cover!” Nick urged.

“No! Don’t move! Don’t move!” she grabbed onto his clothes and held him in the same spot. “Don’t!”

BOOM!

The sound was so loud they screamed in terror. They waited, frozen in place as they clung to each other. Seconds ticked by in anticipation of another booming sound but nothing happened. Slowly the anxiety faded from Alexys and she turned her head out from Nick’s hold to look at the world around them.

“Holy fuck.”

“What is it?”

All over the ground waited the gold watches she and Alex had found on their first night with the Doctor.

“I have to find Alex.”


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

The emergency town hall meeting had been called the evening the gold watches fell from the sky. Alex and Alexys had found each other just after the sudden arrival and spent as much time as they could picking them off the ground around the lake and then around their home when they ran to change and freshen up. The devices were collected as much as they could be into Nick’s trunk and when that got too full they brought them into Alexys’ room. They hoped by limiting the access the Greendale citizens had it would diminish the time fissures but packing into the town hall made them hopeless. Every person they passed held one in hand. The whole town had been littered with them.

“Come on, I think I see a spot closer to the front,” Nick mumbled, taking Alexys’ hand and guiding their small group toward the front.

“Global warming!”

“Just a stupid marketing ploy!”

“That damn new ‘church’ has got something to do with this!”

“Asteroids!”

The shouts of citizens overpowered the words of the Mayor and the Town Council. Alex looked to Alexys with growing distress, “What do we do?”

A loud piercing whistle sliced through the noise creating a vibrating silence. All eyes followed the source of the noise to a man standing on his chair. His back was to the crowd though it could be seen he stood with his fingers in his mouth as if threatening to release another screeching sound. Those with chairs slowly lowered into them while the others left standing pressed against the wall in a show of civility.

“My name is James Robert McCrimmon,” spoke a deep American accent.

Whispers of awe escaped the crowd with murmurs of him being a favorite weatherman.

“Your Mayor invited me here this afternoon after the morning’s events,” he held up one the small gold watch in reference, “I believe I can offer some explanation to the issue at hand. A few months ago NASA launched a small spacecraft out into the thermosphere with the express mission of measuring how time is affected during its rotation around the globe. Unfortunately, there were some mishaps along the way. The spacecraft received damage from an asteroid and sent the ship careening back down to Earth. Most of the ship burned up along the way but there were some big chunks aiming right for Greendale.”

The crowd gasped.

“Now, now. Everything is fine. The military was able to take out the rest of the ship but in the process these devices were unloaded. I have it on great authority from NASA that they are not to be touched or interfered with. They have data that could be used to benefit our planet and, most importantly, our Country. They could also have lethal amounts of radiation from the fall.”

Citizens screamed and tossed them on the floor.

“At the back of the room, as well as each exit, there will be men holding a sack. You are expected to drop the device into the sack and then wash your hands. I would advise you to wash any material you are wearing at the moment as a precaution. Thank you for your time and your cooperation.”

The crowd kicked up again with more shouting but the man descended from the seat. Alex looked to Alexys with a furrow of his brows. She replied with the same expression to indicate that it had to be total horseshit. A path parted for James Robert McCrimmon on his walk to the exit as if the citizens were afraid he had the radiation too. Alex thought he saw a few citizens wearing all black give menacing looks.

Alex and Alexys strained to see what he looked like out of curiosity.

They stood on their tip toes and jutted their chins up high but the crowd grew thicker with jostling of citizens attempting to discard the small gold watches they found. The sight of them relinquishing their hold gave Alex and Alexys some peace but there was still concern as to where they would go. The two looked to each other with seriousness they had not shared in a long time.

“We have to find out where they’re taking them,” they spoke in unison then looked up to their beaus.

It was time to put Nick and Luke to work. 

Only mild convincing was needed for Luke and Nick to come on board. It seemed they were just as interested uncovering where the devices were to be taken as Alex and Alexys. The plan for them was simple: wait until everyone left the Town Hall then follow the vehicles holding the small gold watches. Yet after two hours of waiting the two men became restless. Questions arose with that answers could not be given.

“Come on, I’m starving. I know this is the coolest thing that’s happened in Greendale…ever. But we’re letting it take over our day off,” Luke huffed, pushing his hair back into its natural state.

“Just a few more minutes,” Alexys looked to Nick, knowing that he’d be more likely to fall for her desperate expression than Luke, “Please?”

“Yeah, just a…is that my?” Alex looked in the rearview mirror, suddenly realizing he had cowlicks the entire time, “Why did no one tell me!”

Luke chuckled, kissing the side of Alex’s head, “See, we have to get back. Alex can’t stand when his hair is like this.”

“You let me go to the Town Meeting like this!” he licked his fingers to push down the strands of hair sticking up.

Alexys laughed as she gazed at her friend, “Maybe we shou—”

“Down, down!” Nick suddenly shouted, forcing everyone to lower as they looked over the dashboard.

There they were.

Large men carrying white sacks left the Town Hall just as the lights were being shut off and the building was being closed. Large, armored trucks with no identification rolled up for the men to place the large sacks inside. The man that had spoken, James Robert McCrimmon, stood instructing the men with his back to the Buick. Alexys could tell it was him from the suit and his posture and the hair. She swore she could see a cigarette in hand being used to point at the different men as instructions were being given.

“Those trucks look pretty heavy duty,” Luke commented.

“They look privately owned,” Nick added.

“I guess that would make sense if NASA really did want them for further testing,” Alexys shrugged.

“Definitely not,” Luke scoffed, “It was a scare tactic to get everyone to give them up.”

Alex shrugged, “This is a good way to back up the story. I’m sure we’re not the only people that stayed behind to see what’s really happening.”

“They’re on the move!”

Nick turned the car on and shut off the headlights while they waited for the trucks to maneuver out of the parking lot. Despite the urging of everyone in the car, he waited until the trucks were a good distance away before following. Despite everyone’s yelling, he waited until they were on the highway to switch on his lights.

“I have to make sure they know we’re not following! If they do there’s no way we’ll ever get this close again,” Nick snapped after the tenth urge to get closer.

“It’s not going to matter if we lose them anyway,” Luke grunted.

“I have faith in Nick’s following skil— They’re taking the exit! Take the exit! Take the exit!”

Nick had been in the far left lane but swerved through the vehicles to get to the turn. The car screamed, nearly toppling onto one side of wheels, but leveled out on the ramp. After a few moments of heavy breathing Alexys chuckled, “Where I’m from? They call that the ‘Jersey Slide.’”

“Alexys…” Nick glanced at her, sweating, “You’re not from Jersey.”

“Right!” she looked back to Alex for help.

“But our great aunt Theodosia was from Jersey,” Alex gave her a sheepish look.

“Oh, right. The one that set the house on fire with her brother?” Nick shook his head before looking to Alexys, “If you have any desire to play with matches…please let me know ahead of time.”

She grinned and leaned forward to kiss his cheek, “Will do.”

“Wait! Where’d they go!”

The road before them was dark with the absence of street lights and vehicles. The trucks were completely missing but more than that. The road seemed to be abandoned and out of use.

“Great,” Luke mumbled.

“Damn it, we were right on their tail,” Nick hit the steering wheel with the lightest of touches. It seemed to Alex and Alexys that waiting for two hours had made them emotionally invested in the pursuit.

“They couldn’t have gone far…Maybe if we drive a little further up ahead?” Alexys offered.

“Wait! Do you see that?” Luke suddenly shouted.

“Is that a hidden driveway?” Alex squinted.

“It is!” Nick confirmed, quickly shutting off the headlights as he turned between two large trees. Alexys sunk into her seat and said a little prayer as they began to drive in a wooded area with hardly any light from the moon. Nick glanced at her then reached his hand over the seat to take hers, “Trust me. I have excellent night vision. I won’t let anything happen to us.”

She took Nick’s hand and felt the grip of his promise, “I believe you.”

They followed the narrow path in silence. Their drive had turned into a creep in anticipation for anything odd that could happen. It was clear the vehicles had done the same by the tracks in the path that Nick followed. It twisted and turned and when they thought it couldn’t go anymore it began to ascend over what seemed like a large rocky hill.

“Whoa…do you see that?”

At the peak of the hill Nick stopped the car to see massive mining grounds unlike the anything they had seen in Greendale before. It was at the complete other side of town, far away from the mines owned by the Kinkles, and looked to be brand new. Large rolling dunes and massive fences protected the perimeter to the point that it was clear entry was impossible. Everyone leaned forward to get a closer look and as they did a huge fire erupted from what looked like massive pit.

“Look! The trucks!”

The trucks they had been following drove in from a different entrance and drove up to the controlled inferno. Even from a distance it could be seen the people waiting by the fire wore all protective clothes and gas masks. From the trucks the men began to exit, wearing their own gas masks. Each truck—a total of four—unloaded their cargo at the foot of the white clad people who checked each sack but did nothing. It wasn’t until the man that they assumed to be James Robert McCrimmon arrived.

“Wait…look! Are they throwing everything in the fire?” Luke shouted.

It was true.

One by one they took the sacks and began dumping the contents into the fire and each time they did there was a bursting sound as if massive metal popcorn kernels were exploding in the heat. Alex and Alexys looked to each other.

Nick suddenly grew stiff and threw the car in reverse, “We have to get out of here.”

“What’s wrong?” Alexys looked around in search of what could have scared him.

“I saw some of the guards looking our way. We have to make sure we don’t get caught. We still have a pile in the trunk of those things,” he answered with full focus on making a K-Turn and driving out the way they had come in.

“Good thinking,” Luke’s jaw was clenched so tight it looked like it would snap. Alex placed his hand over Luke’s but the only calm that came was when they were back on the highway.

Silence fell over the car as if everyone were processing what they had just seen.

Guilt crept up into Alex as he looked to Luke who seemed thoroughly spooked. The man had been so kind, so loving, and here he took him on an adventure that frightened him more than he had ever seen. Luke looked back to Alex as if he heard him thinking. A soft smile was shared between them before Luke put his arm around Alex and pulled him in against him. Though he felt terrible about the results…it was definitely a necessary action. Somehow he felt closer to uncovering the truth even if all they saw was how serious the act of destroying the devices was.

“Gold doesn’t melt in fires,” Nick mumbled.

“What?” Alexys looked up at him.

“They had to be using some real heavy duty equipment,” Nick continued as if talking to himself.

“Yeah…it was some scary stuff,” Alexys agreed.

They drove the rest of the way home without a word.

When they pulled up to the Spellman house Luke and Alex jumped out and ran inside but Nick and Alexys waited. There was the feeling of being in trouble that overcame her and she did not like it. Part of her wondered if it was how he had felt just the night before.

“Alexys…I…” Nick steeled himself before turning to look into her eyes, “We need to get rid of all the stuff we collected. We need to give it all up to that weatherman.”

“Nick.”

“This is dangerous…weird stuff. I don’t want you getting involved. We need to make sure no one else held onto them after the meeting. We need to talk to the Dean or something and convince him to make sure no one gets away carrying one of those. I have a really bad feeling about what happened and I’m afraid whoever lost all that is going to come looking for it. I need you to be safe. Please, tell me we’re going to get rid of it all? Please?”

The earnestness in his eyes made Alexys want to weep. She nodded her head, “Okay. We’ll do it tomorrow. We just have to find a way to contact that guy and we can go out and keep collecting the ones we find. I have a bad feeling about them too.”

“Good,” he seemed to relax for the first time all day as he opened his arms in motion for her to get closer to him, “That just leaves us to figure out what to do with the rest of our night.”

Alexys hopped across the seat to him and leaned into his arms happily, “You aren’t getting bored of me? This is the most we’ve hung out in a row.”

“Come on,” he kissed the top of her head, “You’re the most thrilling being I have ever met. I’m sticking around until you tell me to leave.”

“Okay, well. How about we both leave and get something to eat?” she looked up to him with a frown, “I am so hungry.”

He chuckled, “Alright. And we can pick up something for Alex and Luke too.”

Alexys grinned, “You’re the best.”

“You better believe it.”


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

“How does it work?” Alex held the golden pocket watch in his hand that would not open.

Alexys held a separate one and banged it against her night stand, “Open, open.”

“I don’t think it’ll work like that?” Alex chuckled.

Together they turned over and examined the device in search of an opening the way the Doctor had found one. Alexys furrowed her brows, “What did he say? This was an ‘attempt at Time Lord Technology’?”

“Yeah, and that it could have to do with the Time Fissures,” Alex added, holding it up in a shaft of light that came in through the window.

“We should think of a code name for this,” Alexys dropped it into the drawer of her nightstand.

“Like what?” Alex lowered it into his lap to look at his friend.

“Uhhh…what about the golden compass like His Dark Material?”

“Did you even watch that?” he wondered.

“No, but I know Lin-Manuel Miranda is in it,” she shrugged sheepishly.

Alex considered the potential for the nickname, “I don’t know but I can’t think of anything else. I guess that’s fine.”

“Great!” she smiled but it faltered slowly, “I promised Nick we’d get rid of all of them.”

“Well…we pretty much have,” Alex gestured toward the small bag on the bed that only held about ten, “We collected what? Three hundred?”

“At least!” Alexys huffed.

“Ten is nothing compared to it. Plus, we need to figure out where they came from and how they work,” he continued to inspect the one in his hand.

“It’s interesting…now that we have them side by side…it looks almost exactly like the ones we have for the Doctors except it’s gold. It’s almost like whoever made them _wanted_ it to be so similar.”

Alexys pulled out one of the silver fob watches on her person, “Maybe we should leave these here. Nick was adamant about getting the Dean to do searches on the students to make sure no one else held onto them. If we get caught with these and they get destroyed? I don’t want to think of what that could mean.”

“Where do we keep them though? I don’t want just _anyone_ to have access to them. I especially don’t want Salem to think they’re toys,” Alex gestured toward Salem who sat on the ground stretching under the morning sun.

“He would neeeeeever,” Alexys scoffed, “I have a good cat. There’s no way he would do something like that.”

“Still,” Alex said the word in a serious tone.

“Alright…” Alexys stood from her bed to pick up Salem and place him out into the hall before shutting her door. “Come on precious, wonderful, incredible, beautiful, stunning, handsome, brilliant creature of mine.”

“Do you know whe—?”

Alexys placed her finger to her lips as she motioned toward under the bed. Alex nodded in understanding and stood himself. She mouthed to him, “Make some noise.”

“Uhhh…so I’m planning on a surprise for Luke. I just don’t know where or when. He’s been so sweet to me and I feel like I put him in danger last night. He was really spooked about it. I don’t like feeling like I upset him so I want to make it up to him.”

“What were you thinking of doing?” Alexys asked as she casually lifted one of the floorboards beneath her bed.

“I was thinking of baking something—”

“Browkies!” Alexys shouted eagerly, “I think you should make browkies.”

Alex chuckled, “Okay, I’ll put that on the list. I was thinking of making a rainbow challah too. Maybe cookies? But then I was thinking of cooking for him. Making dinner for us and having a nice night in.”

Alexys took the bag on the bed and zipped it up before putting it inside the secret compartment, “Why not both? I’m helping Hilda bake something for the staff tonight anyway. We could all work together to bake and tomorrow you could cook dinner and already have dessert ready.”

“The kitchen will be so full though,” Alex handed over the two silver watches in his pocket.

“Come on, you don’t want to have some bonding time with _me_ , your _cousin_ , and your super rad Aunties?” Alexys grabbed two small velvet pouches from her nightstand that held her crystals. She dumped them out to put the silver fob watches inside before putting them in the hole.

“That would be fun…Hilda does seem so…”

“Motherly?” Alexys answered for him, showing that his pouch was the black one and her pouch was the blue.

“Yeah, it’s really disarming how welcoming she is. The longer we’re here and the kinder she is…I don’t know. It’s bringing some emotions to the surface,” he made that face he did when he was able to admit that he was in pain yet unable to express the pain and so had a slight laugh instead.

Alexys placed the two pouches deep inside the hole away from the back of compasses before shutting it into place, “I’m sorry. I’m really trying hard not to think about them and our relationship with them. I’m just sort of accepting it like they’re props. Part of me thinks that in this alternate universe…I don’t know. Maybe when we go back to our own universe we can bring our boys with us? I guess I’m just trying not to get too emotionally invested.”

“But you’re telling me to bake with you guys so that I can!” Alex huffed.

Laughter escaped Alexys as she shook her head, “No! I—Uh! Just want you to have fun…with me…and our make believe Aunt! I’m sorry!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Alex replied with fake tears, “But I guess I could use some help baking everything and Aunt Hilda _is_ in charge of the bake sale.”

“Speaking of which! I think I smell muffins,” Alexys jumped from the bed.

In the kitchen Zelda sat in the same position she did every morning with a newspaper, cigarette, and coffee.

This time though Nick and Luke joined her.

Alex and Alexys ran to their respective partners with gentle kisses to each cheek, “What are you doing here! I thought you were picking us up in like twenty minutes?”

Nick leaned under the table to grab gently at Alexys’ knee, “We came a little early and your Aunt Zelda invited us in.”

“And how could we say no to Aunt Hilda’s breakfast?” Luke seemed to already be on his third blueberry muffin.

“My precious Alexander, I’ve got your smoothie right here,” Hilda sang her words as she placed a large cold glass on the table right beside him. “I’ve got a thermos in the fridge waiting for you. My dear Alexys, there is a thermos of tea waiting for you as well. I’ve also managed to pack you lunches. Today is a big day.”

“What’s so big about today?” Alexys drank her orange juice before smiling a thank you to Hilda who set her and Alex’s plate down at the same time. She looked to Alex at her right with a furrowed brow.

“Well…” Luke looked between Alex and Alexys, “It’s Finals.”

The two shouted, “Finals!”

“Yeah…the Dean made it a full week early so we could all have time for the Finals Dance on the Tenth,” Nick looked to Alexys with concern, “You don’t remember?”

“It must have slipped my mind with all the weird stuff happening,” she pointed up.

“We’ll have no talk of that at the breakfast table. Those little trinkets broke the windshield of our hearse,” Zelda huffed.

“I’m sorry to hear about that,” Nick frowned.

“My uncle works in repair. I could give him a call if you need?” Luke offered.

“No need. The new church is offering good deeds to the community as a way of building a strong relationship with Greendale. Father Blackwood, himself, will be taking care of the hearse,” she tapped her cigarette against an ashtray.

“Father Blackwood?” Alex nearly choked.

“Aunt Zelda, I don’t have a good feeling about that guy. You should definitely stay away,” Alexys warned.

Zelda looked to her with eyes that had lived a long, long time, “I wasn’t aware you suddenly became the wise sage of our home, Alexys. Forgive me for not immediately seeking your council on the matter.”

“Oh, enough you two,” Hilda placed the brown paper bags beside Alex and Alexys. “He is rather…odd. The whole Church of Stillhet. Professor Smythe seems to think it’s harmless. We should give them a chance.”

Alexys could feel Alex, Nick, and Luke’s eyes on her at the mention of the name. All she did was stare at Zelda as she dipped pieces of her muffin in the egg yolk, “All I’m saying is: I get a bad feeling about him and I love you dearly Aunt Zelda. Please promise you’ll be careful.”

Zelda gazed at her again as if prodding the statement for a challenge of authority. Having found none she sighed, “Oh, alright. You both be careful as well. They are predicting strange weather patterns over Greendale. Stay prepared.”

“Will do!” the members at the table all grinned. 

The conversation flowed peacefully, domestically. There were references to events Alex and Alexys had not actually lived through but as time went on they felt more and more real. Both the Aunties mentioned old family stories that Alex and Alexys swore they had grown up with. It was a fabulous time and even the goodbyes were fabulous too. They both leaned down to give Zelda a kiss on the cheek goodbye while Hilda pinched their faces and gave her own kisses to their forehead.

Outside Nick teased Alexys for her lunch. On the way to the car he pretended to take it while she pretended she would not share. The two lightly pinched and tickled at each other.

Alex was quiet though as he held onto Luke’s hand. He could sense Luke was gearing up to ask what was up and before he could he spoke, “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow night?” Luke pretended to really think about it before smiling and answering, “Nothing, why?”

“Well…I have a surprise.”

“A surprise?” Luke grinned.

Alex laughed, “Yeah, for you. I’d like you to come over.”

“What should I bring?” the question was posed as if there were no options that could lead to him arriving empty handed.

“You’re favorite wine,” Alex sighed.

Luke kissed the side of his head, “Done.”

Once at the school, Alex and Alexys separated from their boyfriends to discuss their game plan. They figured it would be best to take the finals as quickly as possible then spend the rest of their time snooping through the school. It was decided that Alexys would attempt to sneak into the Dean’s office to figure out who the mysterious “she” was that did not like creases. The other part of the plan was to go to Cerberus Books and try to talk to Rose Tyler to connect some of the missing pieces.

It all was perfectly thought out until they walked into their English class expecting to see Professor Schmidt and instead found Professor W.

The Professor W that happened to be Ms. Wardwell, Madame Satan, Lilith…or Missy. 

Alex and Alexys were stunned at the sight of the woman. Both tried to remain casual but it was obvious they were not in good spirits. Alex’s immediate thought was that Missy was taking over the form of Ms. Wardwell just as Lilith had in an attempt to get closer to them. Alexys’ thought was similar but also included how hot she was.

“Um…thank you for your um…patience,” the woman began searching around through her desk for something, “I apologize for leaving on such short notice. I came down with the flu and had to um stay in the hospital for a little while. I trust the substitute kept you all up to speed and gave you the reviews I made for the final.”

“No…” a student in the back called out, “He mostly talked about Shakespeare.”

There was visible distress on her features, “Oh…that’s not…Well. I trust in all of your capabilities. This shouldn’t be too hard. You are all very capable students!”

She seemed to delight as she pulled a stack from her drawer and plopped it onto her desk. Another student called out, “Is that the final?”

“Yes,” she smiled, standing with the pile and beginning to walk around as she passed them out, “You’ll have two hours to complete the final and it will account for fifty percent of your overall grade.”

Alex and Alexys looked to each other with the agreement that they were screwed.

Two Hours Later…

“It actually wasn’t that bad!” Alex had a look of pride on his features as everyone else emerged from the room exhausted.

“I have never read _any_ of the books that were mentioned,” Alexys groaned. “That thing was pure evil!”

“Honestly…it wasn’t that bad!” Alex repeated.

Alexys opened up the brown paper bag with the lunch inside that Hilda had made them and began eating, “I am _starving_.”

“Come on, why don’t we go to the cafeteria? We might see the Study Group while we’re there?” Alex teased.

“Fine, but I’m eating while we walk,” Alexys grumbled.

“We still need to figure out a way to sneak into the Dean’s office,” Alex spoke in hushed tones as they walked through the hallway.

“Yeah we…do you see that?”

Through the window into the quad a group of four students wearing black stood and seemed to watch Alex and Alexys as they passed even through the wall that separated them. Alex narrowed his eyes, “Yeah…that’s pretty weird. Do you think they went to the service?”

“I don’t know but they’re _really_ not blinking,” Alexys lifted a hand to offer a polite smile but there was nothing in return.

The two rounded the corner and with it came the end of the windows. Silence remained between them until they found a seat at a table far off from the rest of the zombie-like students leaving their own final hell.

“Okay, we need to break this down,” Alexys spoke through a sandwich that could only be described as “artisan.”

“Well…things fall from the sky. The next day Willie Nelson is gone and now Ms. Wardwell is here? Is it her or is it…you know?” Alex gestured openly to the possibility of it being Missy.

“I would say based on how she acted it was Ms. Wardwell but the test? Definitely you-know-who,” Alexys took a sip of her tea from the thermos. “You’re forgetting to mention that Willie Nelson seemed to be running _from_ something the other day.”

“True…Possibly the S—”

“Sontarans? I was thinking the same thing,” Alexys gestured toward Alex and his own bag that remained untouched, “You’re not going to eat?”

“I’m not really hungry. Plus, this smoothie is the _amazing_ ,” he grinned, taking another sip.

“Alright…more details. The Church of Stillhet is offering good deeds and now people are wearing black and being weird? That can’t be a coincidence,” Alexys opened up a small sandwich bag that contained homemade chips.

“Do you think their recruiting?”

“That’s what it seems like. We _need_ to infiltrate a service somehow.”

“I’m soooooorry,” Alex hid his face, overcome with guilt at the fact that he had gotten drunk with Luke in the boatshed instead of investigating important matters.

Alexys laughed, “Don’t worry. It’s not like I was any help. Me and Nick…you know…fooled around instead of getting info from the party.”

Alex shook his head in disagreement. No matter how many times she told him it wasn’t a big deal he still felt in his heart that he had messed up something big for them. His eyes drifted across the cafeteria until it landed on something odd.

“Is that the Dean? I’m all fueled up now. I think I’m gonna go try to sneak into his office. Do me a favor and distract him?” Alexys pushed her right hand out with her left against her chest as she stood from the table.

Alex looked with wide eyes in shock while muscle memory forced him to complete the handshake, “How am I supposed to distract him?”

The question went unanswered. As soon as the handshake was complete she immediately began a brisk walk out of the cafeteria. He quickly rose to his feet and tried as casual a stride as he could manage toward the Dean. For the first time since he had been in Greendale the Dean wore regular close with no festive cheer upon it. Alex would have found that strange if he wasn’t so overwhelmed with the possibilities of how to capture the man’s attention.

“Thank you, yes. For the Final Dance I want circles, circles, lots and lots of circles,” he gestured toward students with clipboards and pencils.

“Dean Pelton?” Alex spoke the name tentatively.

“Yee—Yes! I…uh…Mr. Spellman,” the Dean swallowed hard then pushed the students away and whispered them to leave in a hurry, “What a surprise to see you here. How may I help you?”

“Actually, I was wondering if I could help you,” he smiled with as much charm as he could muster.

The Dean looked at him suspiciously, “With what?”

“Uh…the Dance?”

He stood bolt upright, “We’ve got that all taken care of now if you don’t mind me I must return to my office.”

“Jeff Winger!”

The Dean froze, “You’ve got my attention.”

Alex had blurted the name out with no backup but figured he would go with it, “I had lunch with Jeff Winger the other day.”

“If you’re just trying to make me jeal—”

“No! We uh…we talked about you,” Alex wasn’t technically lying.

The Dean cocked a brow, “…Go on.”

Alex let out a sigh as he smiled and stood tall, “Dean…why don’t we take a seat?”

Alexys was quick in her actions, making it to the Dean’s office in less than five minutes. The hallway was relatively empty so when she slipped inside no one noticed her. She had anticipated Rhonda, the administrative assistant, to be waiting in the office but a small sign indicated that she was on break and would not be back until the next hour. Alexys delighted at the sign and quickly scampered through the unlocked door of the Dean’s office, shutting it behind her. She internally screamed at the sight of the green walls and Dalmatian trinkets around but she had no time to indulge. 

Her first order of business was to look on the desk. She took her phone out and took pictures of the surface in case there was something she could find with Alex that she wouldn’t see with adrenaline coursing through her. The next thing she did was pull out the Dean’s planner that rested hidden behind random pages of what looked like a story he was writing. The planner seemed to be on the calendar page for the month of December and she took a picture of that too. Immediately what jumped out to her was the 10th: Day of Awakening.

At the bottom of the page there was also a list of numbers with the primary one being: Blackwood.

She took another picture and moved to turn the page but as she did the door knob twisted.

Alexys dropped under the desk without a second of hesitation. The door opened and shut as if someone snuck into the office too. She held her breath and waited to hear who it could possibly be. Light footsteps made their way around the room with only whispers of drawers being opened and closed. Closer and closer the steps got until suddenly they were in the very place she had been.

She could see immediately that it was a male…a tall male. It looked to be a professor by the style of pant and shoes. He seemed to have great posture with how rigid and stiff his legs were. In the worst possible case scenario she wondered if she had the strength to punch the man’s knee cap and break it. She balled her hands into fists in preparation.

“You there!”

Alexys shot her fist out only for it to hit air as the man jumped back and caught her wrist instead. She tried to pull her arm back, “Let go!”

“Smellpan?”

Frozen.

“Smellpan? Is that you?”

“Uh…yes…”

A hearty laugh came from Professor Smythe as he lowered himself to get eye level with her on the ground, “Now what on Earth are you doing under here?”

“I was spying on _you_ , obviously,” she rolled her eyes, tugging her hand back toward herself.

The Professor did not let her go, “You know, there are easier ways of getting me alone.”

Her face went red as she looked between the solid grip he had on her wrist and the playfulness in his eyes, “Uh…well. I’m not one for easy.”

“I certainly believe that,” he smiled as he started to rise, helping her in the process, “What are you doing here? Really?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” she huffed.

“I’m looking for a PTO Request. Wouldn’t suppose you’d know where to find a form?”

“I…” Alexys glanced to a pile of forms on the desk, “Over there.”

“Oh, right!” he laughed and reached over to grab it.

Alexys held her breath at his closeness. He was only inches away and all she could think about was all the other times they were this close and what had unfolded then. She swallowed hard as she took a step back only to be limited by the desk.

“You’re still wearing the necklace. And look at this,” he smiled as he reached down to grasp her right hand.

She looked down to and watched his thumb brush along the ring that he had given her forever ago. She nodded with blushing checks, “Yes…I wear jewelry.”

“Good,” he smiled as he brought it up closer to his face. His breath wafted over it and tingled upon her fingers as he spoke, “This kind of ring just might come in handy more than you think.”

“What do you mean?” her hand trembled under his touch.

He let out a breath that casted over her face and smelled like peppermint and coffee. His fingers lifted to caress her cheek as his other continued to hold her hand, “I…I can’t stop…thinking of you.”

“Do—Professor,” she whispered, her own hand lifting to hold onto his with the intention of pushing it away but all it did was press his hand against her cheek.

The door opened suddenly, “Right, well. I’m _sorry_ about the creases—What is happening here?”

The two jumped back from each other and while the Professor stammered an excuse Alexys grabbed the day planner and rushed out.

“Ms. Spellman, wait.”

Alexys gasped to see Professor Wardwell right behind the Dean. She had the same skittish appearance and the same docile voice she had in class, “Professor?”

For a moment she looked concerned as she gazed over her features but before Alexys knew it the planner was plucked from her hold, “Is this the Dean’s?”

“Oh!” she gasped and shook her head, “Sorry…I thought it was mine. I have to uh…I gotta…”

“Ms. Spellman…is there something going on you would like to tell us?” Professor Wardwell had a strange look in her eye that Alexys could not understand but it made her afraid.

She looked between the Dean and Professor Wardwell before landing on Professor Smythe. Something told her to act quickly for fear that her Doctor—though not her Doctor anymore—would be in trouble. She chuckled, “Uh…no. It’s a _surprise_ for Dean Pelton that the student board is planning. Right, Professor Smythe?”

“Uh,” he jumped quickly into the lie, stepping around the desk so that he could make it to the exit with Alexys, “Right. As the liaison between student and faculty I have authorized this surprise. Trust me, Dean, you are not going to want us to ruin it.”

The Dean cocked his brow for the second time in that half hour, “Really…a surprise for me? I’m going to need more details.”

“Let’s just say a Effjay Ingerway might be involved…ay,” Alexys chuckled, “Well, be on the look out!”

Once they were out of the room she shut the door.

“That was close,” he rubbed the back of his neck.

She nodded, trying her best not to look at him as she began a run/walk out into the hall, “Right, gotta go!”

Alexys cursed at the fact that she almost had the whole planner but she pulled out her phone to review the pictures she had taken. Though she was shaken up about everything that had just happened she knew she had gotten some good leads. Alex would be proud.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

“Pass the flour, dear!”

“Ye—”

“I’ve got it!”

Alexys sat at the table while Alex and Hilda baked what could only be described as a parade of delicious treats. It had begun with Alex sitting off to the side but quickly shifted when the mention of lemon cookies was made. Alexys didn’t mind the switch up. It gave her time to play detective with the pictures she had taken of the Dean’s desk. So far she had found three other clues.

“So, you’re doing all this for Luke then?” Hilda asked, throwing some flour on the counter so she could begin rolling.

Alex finished up adding the food coloring to the dough for the final color of his rainbow, “Uh, yeah. He’s been really sweet these past few days and I want to do something to show him how much I care.”

“I’m honestly surprised both Luke and Nick are not here at the moment waiting in your rooms,” Hilda teased.

“Is it a problem?” Alexys asked, feeling suddenly so ungrateful for not asking permission to bring guests under the woman’s roof.

“Oh, don’t be silly. You both are grown and I trust your jud…I trust if you like one of his partners and he like’s one of yours then they are a good thing,” she grinned.

“Was that shade?” Alex looked to Alexys and she back to him with a laugh.

“I don’t know the meaning,” she grinned before placing a dot of dough on Alex’s nose.

Ding.

“Oh, I believe the banana bread is done,” Hilda rushed to the oven to pull free the loaf.

Alexys jumped to her feet to hover around Hilda as she made her adjustments to it, “Aunt Hilda, I love banana bread. Please, can I have some banana bread?”

“No, it has to cool down. Here, have another pudding,” she walked to the fridge and pulled out cup of homemade vanilla flavor.

“Thank you but I really would stop bothering you if I could have a piece of the browkies?” Alexys pouted as she looked to the perfectly cut pieces sitting under a glass top.

“ _Those_ are for Luke and…possibly Nick. _Ours_ are in the oven and I think we’ve got about a minute or two left,” Alex checked his fitbit.

“That is much too soon. It’ll need to stay for at least another twenty minutes,” Hilda tsked.

“Don’t worry about us, Aunt Hilda, we like it a little under done,” Alexys tried to soothe the woman’s concern.

“I don’t know about that. The last thing I need is you two getting upset tummies before the Finals Dance,” she turned her back to them to mix something that needed mixing.

“Why is that?” Alex asked, looking to the woman at his side.

“The Dean told me that you may be involved in an entertainment portion,” she looked back to them with joy and excitement, “So what’s it going to be?”

“Alex is doing stand up.”

He gasped, “I am not!”

“Alexander! How could you not tell me?” the eagerness on her face was adorable.

He shook his head, “Aunt Hilda, I’m not! I would tell you but it’s not a thing!”

The phone in the hall began to ring and Hilda quickly cleaned her hands, “I’ll be back shortly. Stay out of trouble and _don’t_ touch my banana bread.”

Alexys groaned but when she did the alarm for the browkies went off, “Thank God!”

“So tell me more. What happened after you tried to leave?” Alex whisper shouted.

She tried to get the browkies from the oven as she answered, “Professor W snatched the date book from me and I convinced Dean Pelton that me and Professor Smythe and the student board are planning a surprise involving Jeff Winger.”

“And he believed it?” Alex shook his head.

“He ate it up!” Alexys grinned as she brought over clear baking tray of browkies.

“It probably helps that I was able to talk to him about Jeff for about five minutes before that Professor W interrupted,” Alex cleaned his own hands off then walked to the fridge to grab some milk.

“Oh, you should have asked me to get it for you!” Alexys pouted, trying to carve out a piece with a butter knife.

“You’ve got your hands full, plus! You’re telling me the story.”

“Oh right, I walked out with Professor Smythe and then I booked it. The sexual tension between us is thick! I can always taste it and it tastes like,” she tasted the air, “Cabbage. But anyway! If they hadn’t interrupted then…I don’t know what would have happened. We probably would have been making out.”

“Are you going to tell Nick about this encounter?” Alex took a sip of the milk before grabbing a small plate to get his own piece of browkie.

Alexys shoved her piece into her mouth and breathed in and out excessively to soothe the burning but when she did she gave Alex a thumbs up, “This is excellent! What were you saying?”

“Are you going to tell Nick about this encounter?”

“I was thinking about it,” Alexys drank her water glass, “And as much as I want…I can’t. He’s going to ask what I was doing in the office and I can’t tell him.”

A timer dinged and Alex rushed to the other side of the counter.

“That’s true, you definitely can’t tell him. Did you figure anything else out from the pictures you took? Genius by the way,” Alex said his words but his eyes were on the work he was doing.

“I got the idea from Sherlock,” she grinned at the fact that Alex looked up at her with an “aww” expression. She continued, “Yeah, actually. So not only do we have Father Blackwood’s number but it looks like there’s the number of a JRM. I think that’s the weather guy.”

“Why would the Dean have that?”

“Well next is a tiny star and what I think says ‘?.’ Maybe he contacted the Dean like Nick hoped he would?”

“Maybe, sounds weird though,” Alex turned away from Alexys to do something on the stove.

“Yeah, but everything’s weird. There’s also a notion on Christmas Eve. It says ‘ASAS’ like maybe he meant to write ‘ASAP’ or something? I told you about what it says on the Tenth right?”

“You did which is concerning because that was the day we arrived and that was the day Waylon Jennings saw something scary enough for us to have to separate in this town and it’s also the day of the Finals Dance,” Alex looked back to Alexys with a sigh.

Alexys paused before bringing forward something that remained on her mind, “We still don’t know where Waylon is. We don’t know about Wanda or Loretta either. We haven’t had a chance to talk to Dolly and now Willie’s gone. Time keeps moving on…”

“Should I stop baking and should we sneak into Cerberus Books to find out where Dolly lives?” Alex looked to Alexys as if he had been thinking of doing it for some time.

She shook her head and continued eating the browkie, “What can be done cannot be done tonight. But I’m thinking this: the crack in our case is somewhere in one of these pictures I took. There’s something I’m missing and I think _we_ need to be missing school tomorrow to get some research time in.”

Alex looked to Alexys with approval of the plan. Though his hands were covered in some sort of baking goop he lifted his right and placed his left over his chest. From a slight distance Alexys did the same and they completed their handshake without touching.

“Now that we’re agreed. I’m going to head to my room to retire for the evening,” Alexys moved quickly to where the banana bread was waiting and grabbed the tray as quietly as she could.

“Hey, leave the banana bread. Aunt Hilda!”

The blonde haired woman came into the room with a look of surprise that made them both freeze in their tracks.

“That was Father Blackwood,” her face cracked into a smile, “He’s asked me to cater an event!”

The rest of the evening was spent with Alex and Alexys attempting to convince Hilda to deny the job. Regardless of every angle they took she dismissed them with statements of open-mindedness. Alex used every tool in his arsenal of convincing and when that didn’t work Alexys cried. All Hilda did was shake her head in disappointment. When the evening was done the two walked back to their rooms defeated.

But when morning arrived they awoke with new vigor. The two jumped into action, making sure to sneak out of the house before Hilda or Zelda had any clue they were awake. They walked away from the house and Spellman mortuary with satisfaction.

“I’d say that was a great escape,” Alexys smirked, pulling a piece of banana bread from her pocket to munch on.

“When did you have time to grab that! It’s for the bake sale!” Alex couldn’t hide his amusement at the surprise.

She handed a piece over to him, “I have my ways.”

Since it was still very early in the day they decided to head to the public library to do the research. They had both brought their own laptops in their backpacks with the intention of working out some of the details that still remained missing. When they arrived it was relatively empty with not even a librarian at the front desk. Alex and Alexys seemed to recall a study room in the back they could use away from prying eyes and listening ears. As soon as they stepped foot inside they began to work.

Alex searched for any information on the town of Greendale and any odd occurrences.

Alexys searched for news on the compasses outside of the town.

“You would think something this big would make international news,” Alexys mumbled to herself.

“Yeah, there’s only one paragraph I can find in the online newspaper,” Alex shook his head, “What would the Doctor do in this situation?”

“Which one?” Alexys huffed.

“He’d already know what to do,” Alex answered his own question, “He’d know who to talk to and how to get answers.”

“We do know who to talk to. We’re just…biding our time,” she shrugged.

“Do we have time to bide?” he spoke as he typed some more keywords into the Google search bar.

“I’ll talk to Professor Wardwell,” Alexys decided, “We need to figure out if she’s Lilith or Missy.”

“Which one would be worse?” Alex pondered the possibilities of how both could be used as an enemy.

“I don’t know bu—”

“I found something!”

Alexys jumped to her feet to view what was on Alex’s laptop. To both their surprise they found a website detailing all the odd events of Greendale that the newspapers did not mention. It read like a fanwiki page with lots of categories and tabs and highlighted words leading to different pages. The two looked to each other with curiosity. Alex went to the page of articles and clicked the title: “Why Does it Feel Like the Universe Just Started Yesterday?”

Three Hours Later…

Alex sat with his eyes shut and head on the table.

Alexys laid on a group of chairs she pushed together as she stared at the ceiling.

The laptop played one of the many videos of two young men walking down the street leading out of town only to arrive at the “Welcome to Greendale” sign à la Pleasantville. Commentary on whether this odd town could be likened to Nightvale, Storybrooke, [Undisclosed] and other fictional towns played between the two young men. The video ended with the signature flashing and the words “Cool ABED FILMS” with the stamp of his head.

“So…we’re stuck…” was all Alexys could manage to say at the end of the video.

“So…none of this is real,” Alex lifted his head from the table.

“But which part isn’t real? The part with the Highwaymen or the part with…” she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Alex did it anyway, “Luke and Nick.”

The video played into the next one and out came, “This is a message to the Inspector and his Constables.”

Both Alex and Alexys moved to the lap top again to see the vision of Abed in front of the camera.

“I don’t know what’s going on but I’m afraid for myself and my friends. There are things falling from the sky and now the Church of Stillhet is helping my father and his falafel business. I don’t have any problems with religion but this Church scares me. We can’t leave the town and no one notices or cares. This could be the work of Blorgins or…any other of your nemesis. But please. Help me, Inspector. You’re my only hope.”

The video went black but suddenly it clicked on again.

“Except for Minerva.”

The video went black again then came the “Cool ABED FILMS” to signal it was over.

Alex pressed the spacebar, pausing the video there so that no others could show up. They had nearly gone through every video including one of Abed and Troy acting like humans that had evolved from dinosaurs with small arms attempting to crack and bite a couple of compasses they had in hand. Alexys looked to her friend and saw the tears coming up before he could hide them.

“Oh, Alex,” she wrapped her arms around him for a hug as his tears fell.

“It’s Luke, this mean’s Luke isn’t real and all the great things he said. None of it is real,” he cried, holding onto Alexys as if she were an anchor.

Alexys was strong in her embrace of him, “That doesn’t necessarily mean that. Remember what the Doctor said about us? We’re from the wrong universe and the Doctors were able to cross to ours easily because of the cracks. This could just be part of that. Maybe the cracks are getting wider and more people are stumbling into the wrong place. _Especially_ with the Time Fissures.” 

“I don’t know…I knew it was too good to be true but still. I—,” he swallowed the frog in his throat before continuing, “I believed it. I believed him.”

“Listen, I think Luke is real and if he isn’t? He still needs to be saved. We still need to figure out what’s going on and save the universe. And who defines what is real? If we take him out of this universe and into ours? What’s the worst that can happen? He leaves his family behind and needs a new identity to survive off of. People that come across him think he looks like an actor? That’s not that bad,” Alexys tried to laugh to bring lightness to her words.

“The Doctor would never let him come,” Alex shook his head.

“You leave the Doctor to me,” Alexys smiled, “But hey, why don’t we look at this as a success. We found a website with honest news on what’s going on. We haven’t even had a chance to look at the speculation page. Maybe we can look at what Abed thinks is going to happen next.”

“No…if we read what will happen it becomes fixed. Remember?”

“Right…right. Well…” Alexys grabbed a small pencil and scribbled onto the desk, “Look. The ending is here. ‘And they all lived happily ever after.’ Fixed.”

“It does…What is that?”

Close to where Alexys had written there seemed to be a drawing stretching out across the table. They moved their bags and their computers to get a better look at what it could be. When they did they gasped to see what was on the table. They shuddered at the sight of a crack drawn in great detail with the same arching and terrifying smile present. The two looked at each other and decided it was time to go to Cerberus Books.

On the way out Alexys thought she saw curly hair but she dismissed it.

The urge to leave became entirely too great.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

Alex and Alexys walked into Cerberus Books with one mission: find Rose Tyler.

At around eleven in the morning the book store was rather quite with only few patrons enjoying the remnants of their breakfast. The holiday cheer mixed with old time ghouls gave that same ambivalent feeling that was had at the Bonfire. The two walked to the counter and took a seat.

Menus appeared on the counter before them with a smile from Dr. Cerberus in his Dracula outfit, “Good morning, will you be dining in or out?”

“We’ll be staying in,” Alex smiled as he looked down at the special of the day.

Alexys offered the menu back to the man, “I know exactly what I want.”

“I love hearing that,” he smiled, pulling out a little note pad and pencil, “What’ll it be?”

“Chicken fingers and french fries _and_ honey mustard on the side,” she grinned.

“And to drink?”

“Oh, right!” she looked around him at the soft drinks waiting and considered if she should get water or what she really wanted.

“That one’s a little harder?” he chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess I’ll just get a coke.”

“Coming up! And for the gentleman?” he looked to Alex. 

“I’ll have a…”

The door opened then with a light wind which promptly forced Alex and Alexys to turn around. They held in their gasp at the sight of the woman. It was Rose Tyler.

“…her,” Alex finished.

Dr. Cerberus laughed, “You’d be surprised how many times I’ve heard that but she is _not_ on the menu.”

Alex rattled off his order which consisted of a grilled cheese and some bruschetta. The doctor left as Rose walked behind the counter. They were surprised to see her in regular clothes and not in some sort of dressed up garb.

Alexys looked to Alex and whispered, “Say something to her.”

“What do I say?” he had to stop himself from shouting.

“I don’t know! But say something! Fast!” Alexys gestured toward the woman’s back.

“I can hear ya talkin’,” Rose turned around to face them with their drinks, “And I don’t like it. Do I know you two?”

“Ummm…” the two looked at each other. Alex continued, “You look like a friend of ours. I met her in the UK? Named Rose?”

“My name is Briar. And you two don’t look familiar. I’m not your mate,” she turned back around.

“Wait…are you sure? We haven’t seen her in a long _long_ time. She was married to a doctor?” Alexys pressed on.

“Look, I’m not your mate. I don’t know any doctors and I’m just trying to do my job here. Alright?”

They froze, unsure of how to respond or what more they could ask of the woman.

“Alright?” she repeated her question.

“Right!” They agreed.

Alexys turned to look at Alex but caught the sight of a necklace around her throat, “You have a crescent moon necklace too?”

“You’re going to accuse me of stealing now too,” she snapped, “I found this in one of the booths and no one’s come back for it. Here, you want it!”

“No, no! I just didn’t know anyone else had one. It’s from the Astronomy Club,” Alexys put up her hands in defense.

“I don’t remember asking,” with that Rose turned her back and began speaking to another customer in a polite manner.

Dr. Cerberus returned with their food, “Hope you both enjoy. Let me know if you need anything else!”

The two nodded as they looked at their food with a frown, “Will do.”

It was clear that Rose Tyler was a dead end but that only raised more questions for them. As they ate their meal they discussed in hushed tones the possibility that they could have _all_ been treated to the Chameleon Arch but if they had then who had Rose’s fob watch? In fact, the question arose, who had _their_ fob watch. The more they talked the antsier they became until they just decided they would need to go to the Church of Stillhet and do some investigating there.

They paid for their meal, said a goodbye to Dr. Cerberus, and a “cheerio” to Rose (who did not think it was funny) then went on their way.

Their entire trip had been walked with determination but once they got to the lake and within view of the church it began to falter. Somehow during the day it appeared far more threatening than at night. There was a strange feeling that permeated off of the structure that felt very threatening.

“Do you think it’s empty?” Alexys wondered.

Alex squinted, “I don’t see any cars.”

“Are you ready?” Alexys moved her hands into position.

“I’m ready,” Alex completed the double tap.

They surged forward.

It was a terrible attempt at looking casual and they were certain that if anyone were watching the police would be called for fear of suspicious characters. They tried their best to play it off but knew they better resembled Jean Ralphio and Mona Lisa Saperstein than Bonnie and Clyde. The two quickly crossed into the parking lot of the old church and did a quick jog to the back.

Up close the Church was daunting and big and surrounded by heavy thickets of wood. There was a strange smell that reminded them of fire and brimstone. They pondered briefly the realities of magic in their world but knew it could not be so. The Church looked old in its design with an overgrowth of vines that wrapped around from the bell tower to the foundation. It was an off white color thanks to years of weathering but a quick scrub promised to make the Church look beautiful.

“If they’re doing so many good deeds for the community why does this place still look like this?” Alexys asked.

“I don’t know,” Alex shrugged, “I kind of like it.”

Alexys glanced around where they stood to make sure it was safe. Behind them sat a lush forest while they stood in tall, overgrown grass. Weeds choked where it appeared a garden had been established. Boarded windows hung a few feet above where they stood and Alexys began to search for something to stand on so that they could look inside.

“Where are you going?” Alex’s heart spiked as he watched Alexys walk around the corner.

“I’m just going to look for a garbage can or something to stand on. I’ll be right back! If anyone comes just say you were…peeing? I don’t know! I’ll be right back!” she gave him thumbs up before leaving.

Alex had felt very confident with Alexys at his side but as soon as she left the confidence disappeared. A strange anxiety overwhelmed him as he stood alone. It began at the tips of his toes then crawled up behind him like nails on a chalkboard following the length of his back until it reached the back of his skull. He felt his muscles begin to shiver as the thought of what he had been teasing Alexys with all along came to exist. Could it be the S—

“Someone’s here.”

Alex had to cover his mouth to stop from screaming but when he saw who it was that spoke he used both hands. Troy and Abed of _Troy and Abed in the Morning_ stood before him. Abed held a camera fixed on Alex while Troy had his cell phone that he used to take sweeping shots of the landscape with.

“State your purpose,” Abed never once looked up from the view finder of the camera.

“Uh…me and my cousin are just…hanging out?” Alex’s mind came to a blank.

“Oh really? Are you sure it’s not because of this!” Troy pulled out a yoyo.

“I can definitely say it’s not because of that,” he nodded.

Troy looked at what was in his hand and quickly exchanged it for a golden compass, “I meant this!”

“Is that why you’re both here?”

“We’re getting footage for my website. This episode is going to be about the weird church and why people are starting to wear black now,” Abed answered in a matter of fact tone.

“Yeah…do you think the church, the people in black, and the compasses are related?”

“Compasses?” Troy questioned.

“Golden compass, like His Dark Materials. I like it,” Abed looked to Troy with a nod as if he confirmed they would start using that name too, “It has to be. They also have to be why the Dean is acting strange and the Inspector Space Time episodes on my computer got erased.”

“You said you’re with your cousin?” Troy looked around.

“She just went to find something to stand on so we could look inside,” he pointed up to the windows.

“Oh, we got this,” Troy grinned.

The two worked together to expertly get Abed on Troy’s shoulders. In the process Abed had handed Alex his camera and once he was stable reached for it back. The two wobbled together as Troy made comments of switching next time. Abed was serious though. He lifted the camera toward the cracks and angled with view finder in his direction so that he could see.

“Okay, I got the shot,” Abed said after a minute.

They repeated the process of Alex holding the camera while Abed and Troy quietly got to the ground. Once on his feet Alex handed the camera back to Abed with the question, “What did you see?”

Abed shut the camera and powered it down then reached for a cigarette in his front pocket and in a calm voice spoke, “I’m deleting the footage. We need to leave immediately. Never return here. Especially at night. Especially not the morning after the Bonfire.”

“Is there another Bonfire?” Alex asked but it was too late. Abed began to run away from the Church and Troy was quickly behind him.

“I think I found something,” Alexys grunted as she dragged what looked like a decaying old wooden box.

“Great, we need to leave. Right now,” Alex grabbed the box and threw it away.

“What! You don’t know what I had to do to get that!” she hissed.

Alex grabbed her arm in a show of urgency he never had before, “We need to leave.”

Alexys opened her mouth to protest.

“NOW.”

The fear Alex had was enough for both of them to run their way back to the Spellman House. They hardly said a word to each other until they were behind the closed doors of their home. The two collapsed against the door and slid down to the ground breathless.

After a few moments Alexys looked to Alex with a shake of her head, “ABED AND TROY?”

“What?” he asked, taking in chunks of air.

“So Jeff, Annie, and Britta weren’t enough but you had to,” Alexys paused to breathe, “had to meet Abed and Troy too!”

“Alexys we were in _danger_!”

“If you meet Shirley and Pierce we’re done!” she shouted.

Alex’s laugh came out as a wheeze, “Deal.”

“What do you think he saw?” Alexys pondered, shutting her eyes and leaning her head back against the door.

“Whatever it was…he said he was deleting the footage,” Alex shook his head, “It had to be terrifying.”

“And not Daleks,” Alexys added.

“What? How did you get to that?” he wondered, slowly lifting himself to his feet.

Alexys followed his example as she explained, “Well, he watches Inspector Spacetime. He knows what Blorgons are. Blorgons are variants of Daleks. It had to be something he’s never seen…”

“So you’re finally considering the S—”

“Sontarans? Never ruled them out. But what I’m really considering is a _nap_.”

Alex chuckled, “Me too. Meet up in…oh…two hours?”

“More like six but we’ll see what happens! I was also thinking about going back to the Blue Moon Tavern tonight to see if I can get more information from Dorian,” Alexys yawned and stretched her way up the stairs.

Alex followed behind, “I don’t like the idea of that. I can end my date a little early with Luke and we can go together.

“I would never _dream_ of doing that to you. We’ll talk more when we wake up but speaking of dreams! Have sweet ones!” she waved off as she walked into her room

“You too!”


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen:

The nap Alex had taken was small and yet it was enough to revitalize him for the rest of the day. He took to immediately planning out his dinner with Luke which meant frequent trips to the store. Alex was extremely grateful that Zelda recalled how much he hated food shopping and so volunteered to run into the store with the lists he made. With all the time he had, Alex decorated the dining table with a fancy white cloth and the _good_ candle holders. Zelda allowed him to use the fine china but only after mentioning that Alexys was allowed nowhere near them for fear her clumsiness would destroy them.

Alex agreed.

The night before Alex had texted Luke that he would be missing classes because of stress (not a total lie) and so throughout the day Luke messaged him with check-ins. There was a moment that he insisted to cancel the date and to let him take care of him but Alex denied the option. All Alex wanted to do was make Luke feel special.

But as he cooked the chicken alfredo…Alex couldn’t help but think about what he and Alexys had uncovered with Abed’s website. The question “Why Does it Feel Like the Universe Just Started Yesterday?” played over and over in his mind while he made the sauce from scratch. To him it meant the answer to his own question: is this real? Of course, the answer was no. It devastated him.

In his mind replayed the words they had shared. There were hints to it that he should have noticed. Constantly Luke said he felt like he was getting to know the _real_ Alex. After so much time they spent together it was like Alex had begun to truly open up. To Alex it felt like he had been tossed into a novel and so his authenticity shook up the pages. His heart melted with how much Luke responded to that authenticity.

Alexys’ words rang through his mind though.

He wondered of the possibility of bringing Luke to Universe A. It wasn’t like he was a ganger. Even if he was! Alex didn’t care. He would be sort of into that. Even if Luke was an alien! That would be fine! That would mean he existed and was real and could leave Greendale with him. Alex feared going into the Tardis with Luke only to have Luke crumble like a burning book. He couldn’t bare it.

The thought of the Tardis suddenly made him think of Hicks.

He cut up the chicken into nice chunks but it might as well have been his heart on the board. His mind ran through memories of the beautiful golden retriever—the sweet blonde. She got in the way a lot. She needed _constant_ affection and she was prone to huffing if she did not receive it. She could not survive on her own but Alex had faith that if she were ever lost on the street she would immediately find a new family and she would be satisfied. Hicks was his baby, his child, his love and being unsure of her whereabouts frightened him beyond belief.

He looked to the bowl of chopped of broccoli and ached to throw her a few pieces.

Alex sighed put down the knife and gave his hands a quick wash.

He trusted what the Doctor said—he had to! He trusted what Alexys said about the sentient Tardis too. She would absolutely take care of Hicks and a brief thought of them flying around the universe to have their own adventures made him laugh. He would definitely watch that show.

Alex began preparing to cook the chicken, broccoli, and mushrooms.

He thought of Alexys and her issues between the Doctor and Nick. He wondered about his own Doctor and the similar overwhelming feelings he had whenever “Professor Schmidt” complimented him—which was often. Alex loved the Doctor, that was absolutely true, and he was so fun. A blush settled over his features as he thought about the adventures they had gotten into. He could spend the rest of his life with the Doctor…but the Doctor could not spend the rest of his life with Alex.

Though there was some conflict, the decision was simple for Alex. Luke was stable, he was compassionate, he was caring, he was there for Alex no matter what. The Doctor was not stable. Alex knew he was at a point in his life where he needed consistency and he needed love. The Doctor was a mystery, he was a wild ride, he had adventures in sentences and beyond. Best of all, he was not jealous!

The decision for him didn’t weigh so much because he knew the Doctor could still rely on him as a companion. Romance wasn’t a thing that got in the way for the Doctor. There would be no hard feelings even if he walked in on Alex and Luke making love. Depending on which incarnation of the Doctor…he might even join. The thought brought a level of excitement into Alex.

Once he and Alexys figured out what was going on…he imagined a celebration was in order for he and Luke and the Doctor.

Alexys’ estimation for her nap was surprisingly accurate. At around 6:30 PM she awoke to the sound of gentle purring from Salem waking up from his nap beside her. She let out a yawn and gave him light pats. He curled against her with what seemed like a desire to continue resting but she knew it was his dinner time. Alexys stood from the bed suddenly overcome with Christmas spirit and began to sing tunes as she carried Salem to the kitchen.

“And this Christmas, will be! A very special Christmas, for you and me!”

“Look who’s awake!” Alex exclaimed.

“It is me it is me,” she smiled but when she looked around to the dining room her smile fell into a gasp. “Alex! This place is beautiful! OMG am I interrupting! When does Luke get here?”

“A thank you, a thank you,” he beamed with pride, “We’ve got about a twenty minutes.”

Alexys was amazed by not only the fine china but by the presentation of the desserts on the table. The smell of the food was incredible and Alexys looked to see he was still working on some of it on the stove. She stepped toward it to see thick, juicy, delicious steaks but when she glanced around she saw evidence of something else.

“Are you having two entrees?” she wondered.

Alex grinned and offered her a small pot with a lid on top and two bowls with forks and napkins, “I took the liberty of making you, Zelda, and Hilda dinner too. They already ate so this is all for you.”

“Shut the front door!” she gasped, taking the items from him and setting it down on the counter so she could open the lid, “Alex! My favorite!”

He laughed, “I hoped you’d like it! I felt bad cooking for me and Luke and not making anything for you and our Aunties.”

“Oh, Alex! Thank you!” She threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome,” he hugged her back.

“How are you able to do all of this? You’re not even breaking a sweat?” Alexys stepped back to look at him. “Do you have your outfit planned too?”

“I do _and_ I decorate my room so the romance can continue,” he grinned.

“Alex! How!” she was amazed that after everything they had done he had so much energy when she needed to take the longest nap.

“I don’t know!” Alex shrugged and watched Alexys feed Salem, “I guess talking to Abed and Troy really gave me the burst I needed.”

“How dare you!” she gasped.

He laughed, “If this were a competition I would totally win.” 

“Hey, no one wins until they meet Star-Burns,” Alexys narrowed her eyes.

“Oh, another Alex? I think I’ve got this,” he grinned happily.

“Alex, this is incredible! Do you need _any_ help with anything? Like _anything_ at all?” she look to the kitchen and found it pretty much clean and the dishwasher already going.

“No, I’ve got it here but…did you see anything when you woke up?” Alex looked to her with curiosity.

“See anything?” her heart began to beat a big faster.

“Yeah…like did you run into anyone familiar on your way here?” he seemed to be searching her face for clues of something.

“Wha—no…Should I? You’re scaring me!” she screamed.

He laughed and shook his head, “Just take the food to your room. I’ll see you…probably tomorrow morning?”

“…Fine. Have fun on your date! If this is a bad surprise I’m ruining it!” she grabbed what he had handed to her off the counter and walked back to her room. Each step dripped with fear and excitement at the possibility of what it could be. In the town of Greendale surprises could be hilarious or deadly.

In her room she found nothing out of the ordinary except for her unmade bed. She put the food and plates down on her dresser before fixing it roughly then doing another check around the room. A flicker from beneath the door of her bathroom suddenly caught her attention in the sweep. Her brows furrowed in curiosity as she took tentative steps to the door. She steeled herself then whipped it open.

“Nick!”

She couldn’t help but scream the name as she looked around the bathroom. The whole room was filled with candles in addition to the already red ones she had. Every surface had candles and where there weren’t candles there were sunflowers and delicious smelling plants. Cinnamon, warm vanilla, brown sugar and scents she couldn’t identify joined together to wrap her in an embrace as she took a step on the rose petal carpet that led to the bathtub where Nick Scratch waited.

Of all the great surprises him in a bubble bath waiting for her was the greatest of all.

He smiled happily and from the other side pulled up a six pack of Coca Cola, “Well, are you going to join me?”

When Luke arrived Alex felt a wave of nervous energy wash over him. He had done literally _everything_ to prepare for the event and still he was afraid something would go wrong. Everyone had promised to leave the house to him and Luke so there was no worry of anyone getting in the way. He had a record playing Save the Last Dance for Me by the Drifters and he was dressed in the classic Ambrose way. His hair was perfectly slicked with no cowlicks to speak of and dinner waited on cloche serving dishes on the table.

It was all perfect and yet…

A light tap at the door signaled that Luke had arrived.

He took in a deep breath and opened the door.

The man was stunning, wearing nicer clothes than he had the whole while Alex had known him. His hair was perfectly coifed and he leaned against the door frame with a smirk that made his blue eyes pop. He looked so much like James Dean it made Alex melt.

Luke noticed and leaned in closer, lifting Alex’s chin with a solid finger, as he smiled, “Smells delicious.”

“Yeah!” Alex squeaked, completely captivated by the man before him.

His lips ghosted over Alex’s with the temptation of a kiss, “Are you going to invite me in?”

“Right!” Alex pulled back and motioned for him to enter, “Come in, please! Can I take your coat?”

Luke was already shrugging it off as he gave a little sway to the music, “Don’t worry, I know where it goes. Alex, I’m not joking. It smells incredible.”

“I’ve got it,” Alex mumbled taking the coat from Luke so he could hang it up in the coat closet, “Thank you, thank you. I hope you like it. It’s one of my specialties.”

“Honestly, even if you served me a hockey puck I’d love it,” Luke grabbed Alex by the hand and pulled him in for a kiss.

Alex beamed under the touch of his lips but after a moment the excitement of him trying the meal took over. He pulled back and held onto Luke’s hand as he guided him toward the dining room, “If you call what I made you a hockey puck I’d honestly die a little inside but that’s okay.”

“No!” Luke laughed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as they walked, “I’m sure what you made is _nothing_ close to a hockey puck.”

“So you’re saying it’s _worse_ than a hockey puck?” Alex pretended to get chocked up, “No, it’s fine. It’s fine.”

It seemed just then Luke really began to listen to the music that played. He tilted his head up to hear the song then looked to Alex with a grin, “Will you do me the honor?”

“I’d be happy to,” the blush on Alex’s face was bright as Luke grabbed him around the middle and took his right hand to hold it up.

The two danced, rocking side to side as they shuffled and sang to the lyrics of the song, “If he asks if you’re all alone can he take you home, you must tell him no. Cause don’t forget who’s taking you home and in who’s arms you’re going to be. So darling, save the last dance for me!”

They danced and sang their way to the dining room but as soon as they stepped into the room there was nothing but silence.

“Do you…like it?”

Luke’s face was unreadable as he looked over the scene Alex had created. His blue eyes dragged over every surface of the room that had been made up in such a classy manner. The candles at the center of the table danced toward them as if seducing Luke to make some sort of statement.

“Luke?”

“Yeah?” His voice was a whisper as he glanced to Alex and then back at the room.

“What do you think?”

He coughed and that smile that brightened his eyes returned as he looked to Alex, “I…I’m speechless. No one has _ever_ done anything like this for me. _EVER_. I just…I don’t know if I deserve it.”

“Of course you do!” Alex wrapped his arms around the man’s middle, “Luke…you have been a dream come true at a time when I didn’t believe in such a thing. You have given me everything I need in a partner. This is the _least_ I could do!”

Luke looked to Alex with genuine emotion before kissing his forehead, “You’re a king, Alexander.”

Alex’s face seemed to be glowing, “Just wait until you try the steak.”

“Steak!” Luke pulled back with excitement, “And he cooks steak! I’ve made it!”

Alex laughed and guided him to his seat, “Did you bring the wine?”

Luke grinned, “No, I brought flower.”

It was Alex’s turn to gasp as from Luke’s pocket he pulled out a full two ounces of marijuana with the name Pineapple OG written clearly on the bag that held it. Before Alex could control himself he blurted out, “I love you.”

Once the words jumped past his lips he covered his mouth with his hand.

Luke stood and held Alex’s face between his hands as he looked deep into his eyes, “Alex, I love you too.”

In the bathtub upstairs Alexys sat at one end with Nick at the other and their legs tangled together. They alternated between warm water and cold water and bubbles and bath bombs that turned the water a strange color. Alexys sipped her cola out of a wine glass while Nick drank actual wine. In the background was a Spotify playlist Nick had made just for the occasion that had a mix of modern music, classics, and Christmas carols. It was heavenly.

“Nick…I don’t know what I did to deserve this but please tell me what it was so I can do it over and over and over again!” she grinned.

Under the water Nick massaged her foot as he laughed, “All you did was be sweet and honest with me. I know we hit sort of a rough patch but that happens in serious relationships. This is a celebration of us making it through our first bump in the road.”

“Cheers!” she laughed, extending her glass toward his. He reached over for his and clinked hers. Alexys tried her best not to consider the tenth of December, the compasses falling from the sky, the cracks in the universe, the time fissures, Professor Wardwell that could be Missy or Lilith, Father Blackwood, or the Church of Stillhet.

“You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” he frowned, putting his glass down after his celebratory sip.

“I’ve got you on my mind,” she pushed her toes lightly against his thigh in a teasing manner, “Have you got something on _your_ mind?”

“Kind of…”

“What is it?” her heart began to beat wildly.

“It’s nothing. Just…I talked to the Dean about getting security to do searches around the school to make sure those things are gone,” he frowned.

“It didn’t go well?”

He looked away, “No, it didn’t.”

“How could he not? What did he say?” Alexys sat up a little straighter.

“He said there’s not enough security for something like that,” his concern was visible on his features.

“Well…I’ve got two ideas?” she shrugged, leaving it open in case he just wanted to vent and did not want advice.

“I’m all ears,” Nick smiled.

“Okay…well. What if we volunteer as security and do the search ourselves. I’m sure Alex and Luke would be interested!”

“I didn’t think of that. He had students volunteer on April Fools. Why not now?” he pressed into the arch of her foot and she melted, “What’s your other idea?”

“Oh…maybe we can just call that weather man guy and get him to bring his crew here to do it himself. They obviously take it very serious,” she placed her drink off to the side so that she could settle into the warmth of the water.

“That’s incredible but how are we going to get his number?”

“I have my ways,” Alexys smirked.

“What ways are those?” his hands caressed up her calf and to her thigh.

“Trust me,” She did her best to keep her chill but slowly it dissolved like the bath bomb that made their water a strange red.

He grabbed her hands and pulled her toward him with a laugh, “Fine, but if I find out your ‘ways’ are anything but Google I’m going to be seriously pissed.”

She leaned her head against his chest, “Shhh…don’t talk about the p-word while I’m sharing a bathtub with you.”

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her tight, “Fine, you win.”

Alexys sunk into the warmth of his body.

She tried her best not to think of the question: “Why Does it Feel Like the Universe Just Started Yesterday?” and instead focused on the hardening thing in the water beneath her. 

Down below Luke and Alex were very, very stoned and very, very much enjoying the beautiful meal Alex had prepared. The whole time Luke ate his steak he commented on every flavor that seeped into his mouth. He seemed to act as if he were a celebrity chef on a cooking show trying out a meal from one of his contestants. Each time his eyes bulged with pleasure and he chewed with genuine concentration before releasing a happy sigh and extending his comment. It made Alex feel like a total success.

After dinner, Luke forced Alex to allow him to wash the dishes. They had come up with the idea that while he washed Alex would take the desserts to his room so they could continue smoking and could watch something on the projector. It gave him enough time to turn on the Christmas lights he had got just for Luke and to make the room feel more cozy and romantic.

When Luke walked in his face immediately brightened into a smile. On the ground Alex had arranged pillows and blankets together in a neat circle where they could sit. At the center sat the desserts and the wine bottle with the new glasses along with two glasses of milk. Luke immediately ran to the pillows and began sampling the desserts with the same enthusiasm as the steak.

“This is incredible!”

Alex laughed and turned on the projector. He had set up a white sheet to hang over the door long ago and he dropped it down so that the projector had a flat surface to cast on. He then joined Luke’s waiting arms and a joint that he had just lit. The two passed it between each other as Luke sampled bits from everything Alex had made. Every bite he took needed a new adjective of praise afterward.

“You don’t have to keep saying that you know,” Alex’s face was red enough and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He genuinely just wanted Luke to enjoy it.

Luke sighed as he looked at the man beside him. His blue eyes were outlined by red and he had the kind of lazy smile that indicated he was truly at peace. Alex could see tears coming as Luke opened his mouth to speak, “Alex…no one has ever done anything like this for me. I know I’ve been saying it all night but I truly mean it. I’m the one that does things. I never get anything in return. I’m not saying I expect anything—no, not at all! I’m saying I just never considered it an option.”

“Luke, it’s more than an option,” Alex felt tears coming himself, “It’s now a necessity. You have done so much for me in such a little time that I don’t know…The thought of losing you breaks my heart.”

“It breaks my heart too,” Luke rushed to cup Alex’s cheek and bring him close, “I love you. I really, genuinely do. You make me feel so special. Just the way you look at me. Just the way you talk to me. I feel like an individual. I feel important and no one has ever made me feel like that. Alex, I would do _anything_ for you. I know you and your cousin get in these half-baked schemes and run around campus and follow cars and play hooky but I want you to know that I’d do anything. Nick is a stickler for the rules but I don’t care. I want to keep you safe and I…you have my loyalty. You have my allegiance.”

Tears fell down Alex’s face as he looked to the man and felt his words sink in. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Luke. He most certainly did! But the question from Abed’s website vibrated across his mind and he whispered, “Please, let this be real.”

Tears began to fall down Luke’s face too, “This is real, Alex. Please believe me. What I’m saying is real. How I feel is real. Nothing can change that. I’m here for the long haul, remember? I’m here.”

Alex nodded, willing his words to be reality in a place where reality was so subjective.

“Come on,” Luke put the joint down on a plate then took Alex’s glasses off.

“What are you doing?” he asked, not minding it at all.

“I want you to lay your head right here,” Luke grabbed a pillow and put it on his lap.

Alex laughed but followed and as he did he immediately felt Luke rubbing his head and his shoulder and his face. The intimacy was overwhelming. Alex continued to cry quiet tears and each one got scooped away by Luke’s gentle fingers. His heart had never been so full and all he desired was for the moment to be real and true. The second Luke turned the projector onto Star Trek it felt like it was.

Nick and Alexys had stayed in the bath for as long as they possibly could but a chill had begun to take them and they desired warmth. The two emerged and wrapped themselves in towels and lotion and then very warm sweats. Alexys brushed Nick’s hair and then Nick brushed Alexys’ while she managed to work the projector Nick had brought from his home. He tied her hair up in a nice tight braid while she got Netflix working for the both of them.

The next course of action was diving into Alex’s pasta—which remained warm thanks to the container—and separating it into bowls. They sat on the bed with their wine and Coca Cola and said lovely things about each other to each other. It was a grand time.

“I have something for you,” Nick smiled in that sweet way he always did.

Her heart leaped happily, “You do?”

“Yeah, close your eyes.”

Alexys followed his instruction with bated breath. The sound of rustling filled the air and then there was a kiss to her lips. She gasped happily, “This is the best gift I have ever gotten!”

“No,” he chuckled, “Open.”

She opened her eyes and saw he was holding a beautiful, leather-bound journal waiting for her. Alexys took it into her hands immediately and began opening the pages, “This is beautiful! I can’t believe it! Nick!”

“I figured you could use it as a dream journal. I know how much those mean to you. I want you to have a place to collect them all,” he smiled and opened the first page to where he had written the words in cursive.

She threw her arms around him in thanks, “This is amazing. I can’t believe how lucky I am. I’m so happy. This is honestly perfect.”

There was joy in his features that slowly became serious, “Alexys…”

Her heart sank, “Yeah?”

“I…I need to talk to you about something.”

“You couldn’t talk about it in the bath?” she asked, lowering the journal into her lap as she looked at him.

“No…I wasn’t thinking about it then but I’m definitely thinking about it now,” he looked off to the side.

“Is it about going all the way?”

He chuckled and shook his head, “No, I’m very satisfied with what we have right now.”’ “Okay…what is it?”

His eyes were off on the wall as if he were considering a hundred different ways to say what he wanted to say. Finally he let out a sigh and met her eye, “I heard about where you went today?” 

“Huh?”

“The Church,” he elaborated.

“Ohhh,” she cocked her head to the side, “How?”

“I heard Troy and Abed talking about it. They said they talked to Alex and Abed saw something that scared him enough to delete the footage,” he grabbed onto Alexys’ hand, “Abed _never_ deletes footage.”

“Yeah, I know,” Alexys held onto his hand tighter.

“I don’t like that place…I don’t like what’s happening to the people that leave there. More and more people are wearing black and being weird and it all has to do with that place. It just doesn’t feel right. _Especially_ after what came from the sky. I know you have such a curious mind but I’m begging you. Please just…drop it.”

To Alexys it seemed he was asking her to drop discovering what had happened to the Doctors and Rose and Clara and River. It seemed he was asking her to stop the investigation of what the town of Greendale had to do with the Time Fissures. It seemed he was asking her to just sink into what could be a totally fictional reality.

“Please?” he continued to urged, “I’m going to take your suggestions and I’m going to go over the Dean’s head about it. I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt on my watch. I can’t stand the thought of you being in danger.”

“Nick, I’m not in danger,” she tried to pacify.

“Please?” he urged again, “Please be careful and put…whatever you’re doing to rest?”

She let out a sigh as she looked into his beautiful brown eyes, “I’ll stop putting myself in danger.”

“Good,” he smiled happily, his hand moving to grab onto her thigh and give it a good squeeze, “Now. You’ve said the Good Place is your favorite show. I want to watch it. Can we see the first episode?”

Alexys froze as she looked at Nicholas Scratch. In her mind came the clear words: I LOVE YOU. He seemed to blush by her stare and all she could manage was a happy nod of, “Nothing would make me happier.”


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

Alex and Alexys sunk deep into their roles as part of the Spellman family. The days leading up to the Tenth were spent with indulgence and pleasure. Their romantic relationships seemed to increase with an enjoyable intensity both were very fond of. This included double dates, single dates, constant sleeping over, and taking turns of surprising each other with gifts. It became such a thing that Alex and Alexys hardly had time to investigate or talk about the growing numbers of black-clad students. The days swam together in one giant wave until suddenly it was the morning of the Tenth.

The light coming in from the window was colored a soft pink from the curtain hanging over it. Though the curtain was red the brightness of the sunlight casted a rose-like hue over the lovers wrapped in each other’s arms. Alex woke with a small snore that caused his sleepy eyes to blink awake. The cool air of the fan Luke had recently bought him made his eyes slightly dry but he enjoyed the contrast of the shiver it produced with the shiver Luke did. He felt truly at peace.

“You’re awake,” came a gentle murmur at his side.

When he turned over he saw the brilliant smile of his love, Luke Chaflant. The man leaned on his side, his arm bent to keep his head raised as he gazed upon Alex’s drowsy form. The light coming in from the window haloed around his head making him look like an Adonis. It was clear the man had been watching Alex sleep.

Alex blushed, “How long have you been watching me?”

“That is a loaded question,” he grinned, leaning down to kiss at Alex’s lips.

Alex chuckled and moved to sit up. A yawn escaped him and he stretched his limbs. His eyes immediately scanned the floor in search of Hicks, as it did every morning, but she was nowhere to be found.

“What’s wrong?”

The gentle hand of Luke guided Alex’s face back toward the very attractive man at his side. Over the past few days he had gotten used to Luke’s ability to feel his emotions. Alex smiled weakly as he looked to the man, “Just felt sad for a second.”

“Why?” Luke frowned.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Alex answered honestly. He knew if he opened up about this _one_ thing it would lead to an avalanche of other things he couldn’t dance around.

Luke nodded in understanding, “Okay. I wasn’t watching you sleep for long, by the way. I woke up only a few minutes ago.”

“That’s still too much,” Alex chuckled. He didn’t really mean it but he blushed imagining how he must have looked in deep slumber.

Luke laughed at Alex’s response and moved to sit up with the man, “It gave me enough time to think about something though.”

“What is that?” Alex went back down on the bed.

“I think we should skip classes today.”

“But there are four days left until break!” Alex leaned up on his elbows.

“Exactly my point!” Luke kissed Alex’s head, “I knew you’d understand.”

Alex shook his head with a laugh, “No, that’s not a statement of agreement.”

“Come on, finals are done and attendance isn’t exactly going to be noticed today. It’s Greendale. Half the Professors are taking a ‘sick day’ too. Plus, it’ll give us more time to look for our outfits to wear to the dance tonight,” with the last sentence Luke began pouting in a way that was so adorable Alex could not stand it.

“Fine!” he laughed. “Fine, but I don’t expect we’ll be shopping all day, will we?”

“Oh no! I’m going back to bed!”

With that Luke curled back into the blankets and shut his eyes with a smile. Alex laughed and leaned down to kiss the side of his face before getting out of bed as quietly as possible. He supposed he’d enjoy some breakfast with his Aunties while his Luke slumbered.

Alexys, on the other hand, had been up for hours. She had taken to writing in the journal that Nick had gotten for her to track the details of all the events that had occurred and that were promised to occur. On one timeline she wrote down what she could recall from Doctor Who episodes and important events of the seasons. On another timeline she wrote what had occurred so far with her experiences with the Ninth Doctor and Alex’s experience with the Eleventh Doctor up until their last sighting of the Tenth Doctor on the day of the Tenth. On the last she wrote down everything that had been happening since they had awakened in Greendale as the cousins Alexys and Alexander Spellman.

On other pages she wrote down details about the people involved, using code words where she could. She drew pictures of the golden compasses and the silver fob watches that still rested in their secret place under the floorboard. She jotted down the names of students that had suddenly begun wearing the all black and mischievous looks along with details of what they had been like before they arrived to school brand new. She made a list of possible suspects that could be involved in the unhinging of the universe. Worst of all she speculated wildly on what was to come.

She knew she had to solve what was happening quickly and with that she had to witness what the Doctor had seen that night when they had arrived the first time.

Her eyes glanced to the handsome Nick that slumbered peacefully.

More than the anticipation of what was to come kept her from sleep though. A dream that night of Nick frightened her so much she was unable to shut her eyes again. It was a dream that he had been a Zygon spying on her to get to the Doctor the whole time. When she awoke she knew it had to be just a fiction her mind had created with the anxiety of the coming day but it didn’t shake the fear that filled her. She doubted Zygons were involved and she doubted Nick was part of them. But that didn’t stop her from writing her dream down along with notes about how Nick had interrupted all of her plans for investigating further.

No, it couldn’t be. She leaned over to drink some water she had gotten for herself in the restlessness. It was only anxiety turning everyone around her into a monster. Alexys looked back to Nick and how genuine he appeared as he rested. If he were a Zygon would that matter? He could keep is handsome face but she doubted the Zygon face would bother her much as long as he remained genuine on the inside. The thought of him being an alien didn’t upset her near as much as the thought of him lying and using her.

It would absolutely break her heart.

The man jolted as if he had been shot in his sleep. His eyes flashed open and looked around in absolute confusion, “What time is it? What time?”

“It’s a quarter to seven,” she answered, her hand moving to caress the desperate features of the man’s face.

He relaxed under her touch, “I just had the worst dream.”

“What was it?”

Nick sat up and quickly crushed her to his chest, “I don’t…I can’t even…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she tried her best to talk but it came out muffled against him.

“It was so real. Just so, so real,” he continued to murmur against her hair.

Alexys dropped her journal gently on the floor beside her bed as she turned to face Nick and wrap her arms around his neck to pull him against her, “Tell me about it. It might make you feel better. Talking about my dreams makes me feel better.”

“No, I don’t want to say the words. If I do they might come true,” his arms were tight around her.

She let out a shaky breath, “I had a bad dream too.”

“What was it?” he pulled back to take hold of her face.

Tears spilled from her eyes as she looked at him and imagined the transformation that had taken place in her dream. She pulled back and looked down at her hands, “I don’t want to go to class today.”

“Okay,” Nick grabbed her hands and began to kiss her knuckles, “I’ll stay here with you. Or do you want to be alone?”

The question was simple and yet it exploded inside of her. There was no way he could be a Zygon spying on her. A Zygon spying on her would never give her the option to be alone and would never say it with such earnestness. She looked up to him and leaned her head against his chest, “I want to take another bath with you.”

“We can do that,” he smiled as he wrapped her up in his arms, “That’ll make me feel better too.”

The rest of the day was spent in simple pleasures until 3:00 PM when they separated to dress for the dance. It was 7:00 PM when the red Buick Skylark and the handsome men that took the breath of the Spellman Cousins came to call upon them.

Zelda’s voice could be heard through the whole house as she opened the door, “Don’t you two just look dashing!”

“Oh, picture! Picture!” Hilda shouted with delight.

Alexys looked to Alex with a wink as she placed a new record on the record player, “Are you ready to make our debut?”

“I think I’m quite ready to turn some heads,” Alex smirked.

She stepped in line beside him and looped her arm through his, “Let’s go.”

_“Cupid, draw back your bow. And let your arrow go straight to my lover’s heart for me.”_

The two walked arm in arm to the banister and were met with gasps.

_“Cupid, please hear my cry. And let your arrow fly straight to my lover’s heart for me.”_

Alex walked down the right side of the steps with the most confidence he had felt in all of his entire life. Though he had picked out the suit with Luke he had not tried it on in front of him for fear of how it would look without alterations. When he got home he immediately enlisted the help of Hilda who was skilled in tailoring his clothes and often did it with pleasure. It took her only an hour to get it all adjusted properly because of the beautiful material. The suit contained pieces that all together created a masterpiece but on their own were also quite impressive. 

The evening jacket he wore was a Brunello Cucinelli design in crimson velvet. The jacket contained basted sleeves which allowed Hilda to do her tailoring with ease. The collar was made of the same velvet crimson but melted seamlessly into black satin peaked lapels. It had a two-buttoned front with welt pockets that gave perfect black accent to the crimson affair. The double vent back allowed for movement and comfort. The lining of the jacket was a mix between silk and cotton that made the thing feel just as much of a pleasure to wear as it was to see.

Inside the jacket was a Burberry sport shirt made of cotton. At first glance it appeared a simple white shirt but the details gave Alex as much delight as it did Hilda. The shirt contained a patch pocket with a beautiful lace trim as well as a button placket. The collar was pointed and the cuffs were barrel which fit perfect beneath the evening jacket. It had a back shoulder yoke which allowed the material to drape peacefully. This ensured that Alex looked incredible with or without the evening jacket. Around his neck he wore a black satin bowtie and the pièce de résistance was the Paul Smith rainbow cufflinks. 

He wore a solid black tuxedo pant cut in a slim manner that allowed breathing room. The tapered legs allowed for the flexibility while not compromising on the fit. The trousers had slip pockets with back welt pockets deep enough to hold his wallet and any other secret things he might need to carry. It had a hidden closure that made the zip fly unnoticeable. It was made of virgin wool but the best part was the satin waistband that gave it real style. The shoes Alex wore were leather Oxford brogues that contained a contrasting high-shine toe cap. What decorated the heel was a D-ring detail that was quite impressive. It was Italian made Burberry that made every step feel like elegance.

His hair was perfectly parted at the corner of the left side his head which allowed his hair to be fashioned down in the manner he liked. For what felt like hours he begged Hilda to make sure to make his hair cowlick-proof for the special evening. The glasses he wore remained chic and fit to his face perfectly. Over his shoulders hung a classic black Burberry coat while around his neck was a Burberry scarf of the famous print.

At the bottom waited Luke who looked damn good himself. The theme for the couple was crimson and so Luke wore the color that matched Alex’s evening jacket exactly yet his outfit was completely different. Instead of a dinner jacket he wore a crimson velvet blazer of viscose and silk-blend. The button closure was at the front along with welt pockets and a notched lapel collar with a buttonhole. Flap pockets rested at the waist along with padded shoulders that made his already large shoulders look massive and the four-button surgeon’s cuffs made his arms look thick. There was a central vent at the back hem which Luke had mentioned he enjoyed on most of his jackets along with the brown hardware.

The pants were the exact accompaniment of the same exact brand and material. Straight-leg, mid-rise cut gave his long legs even more length. The four-pocket styling promised he had enough to hold even the most unnecessary of items. Raw edge cuffs accentuated the Dévoré floral pattern that begun at the cuffs and stretched out. The blazer had the same pattern starting at the cuffs and bottom of the blazer all in a gold pattern. Together it looked as though a fire had begun and stretched out into a beautiful dance across his clothes. 

What he wore beneath was a Dolce & Gabbana solid dress shirt made of white cotton. The pointed collar fit perfectly with the lapel of his blazer. Alex knew from before that it had a hidden-button placket and mitered barrel cuffs. It had a curved hem with a trim fit that promised when Luke undoubtedly took of his blazer to dance it would give the world a beautiful show. The dancing shoes he wore were Franklin leather dress oxfords the color of cognac. It was bologna construction that offered padded cushion for comfort and flexibility. The stacked heel, wing-tip toe, and full-brogue detailing gave it style and grace. 

His hair was perfectly coiffed as it always looked and round acetate-frame sunglasses in tortoiseshell rested on his face. The sunglasses had gradient lenses of pink tones that hid his blue eyes but made the outfit come together. In his arms he carried his wool-cashmere black top coat and even from a distance Alex could see he too had the rainbow cufflinks.

Beside Luke was Nick who also looked pretty damn good. The curls on his head looked perfectly defined as if he had gone through each one with a comb to accentuate its silk like texture. Over his eyes also sat a pair of panthos styled sunglasses though his were dark tints that made his brown eyes appear to be black. 

The theme for Nick and Alexys was emerald and so the color of his jacket was a deep, green almost like melted chocolate. Up front were welt pockets along with a front flap pocket that accentuated the simple, yet elegant blazer. Basted sleeves led to hands that held onto a black, wool trench coat with a similar double vented back to the evening jacket Nick wore. The jacket itself was a tightknit wool affair with a notched collar that dipped low with a two-button front that kept his chest visible. His chest was covered in a white sport shirt of what looked nylon/spandex material. It clung to his body making the muscles in his chest very apparent. The spread collar and front buttons only accentuated the appearance. The rounded barrel cuffs fit perfectly beneath the dinner jacket.

The pants he wore were slim-fit plain-woven wool. It was a midrise mohair-blend trouser in a classic black. The pants had a central crease at the legs with darts at the back waistband. On his feet he wore Grecco leather Oxford dress shoes. They were leather with leather sole and lining that shone bright under the lights. He appeared very dapper and even from behind his black sunglasses it was clear his eyes were focused on Alexys.

Walking down the left side of the stairs was Alexys who, like Alex, felt more confident than she had ever in her entire life. Zelda had assisted her with every aspect of her outfit and she looked up with approval. Alexys had her hair down in black waves held back by a gold floral circlet headband. Her eyes were decorated with gold eye shadow that was amplified by mascara and winged eyeliner. The features of her face were accentuated with bronze blush and subtle highlight that made the apples of her cheeks pop. Mahogany liquid lipstick turned her typically kind smile into something far sultrier. Each step she took was with black open-toed thick-heeled ankle-strapped stilettos. 

The dress she wore was a masterpiece straight from the family treasure trove of old clothes that had never been thrown away. It was made from sumptuous emerald velvet that looked as haunting as it did beautiful. It was an A-Shape that accentuated her curves in an appropriate and provocative way. A mandarin collar fit around the neck and at the hollow of her throat fit a bow that hung over her chest. Across the bodice was what looked like two thick strips of velvet that formed “V” with the vertex being covered by a thick strap of velvet surrounding her waist. The lines of the “V” connected into the shoulders that connected to the collar and down the length of her arms in thick strips until it came to a cuff. Around her shoulders came the velvet into another thick “V” that sunk into the waist. The velvet sections were held together by beautiful emerald lace that both covered and revealed much of her tan flesh.

Down from the waist and over the hips thick connected sections of what beautiful emerald velvet. At the end of the hip line the sections stretched out in long slits that allowed her legs to breathe and be visible. Covering the slits once again was the lace pattern that connected each long section to one another. The gown reached half an inch above the ground which gave Alexys length without tripping her. It was absolutely stunning.

Alex and Alexys met once again at the landing, locked eyes, did their handshake, then completed their decent to their partners.

“You look amazing,” Luke’s hands over Alex spoke more than his words did.

“I am speechless,” Nick whispered as he held onto Alexys’ hands and guided her in a small twirl.

“Oh! Get together all of you! We need photos!” Hilda shouted with excitement.

First she got shots of just Luke and Alex and then she got shots of just Nick and Alexys. She then had the four of them pose on the stairs for prom-styled pictures. After twenty minutes of picture taking Zelda finally put an end to them.

“Alexys, allow me to assist you with your coat,” Zelda said in a firm tone that signaled the end of Hilda’s fun.

“Oh, I suppose it is time for you all to get go,” she frowned but chippered up to give Alex’s cheek a little pinch, “You all look so lovely!”

Zelda assisted Alexys with her coat so that she didn’t have to lift her arms too high, “I hoped one day to see this dress used. I will say you do it quite the justice. I only ask that you don’t make _any_ sudden movements and do _not_ allow anyone to touch it.”

“Will you ladies be joining us?” Nick asked, helping Alexys with the buttons of her coat once Zelda had finished getting it onto her. Zelda handed him her velvet bag to hold which contained her journal.

“We may be arriving later in the evening,” Zelda gave a coquettish smile, “I do have an invitation from a certain Professor.”

“ _I_ actually have _two_ invitations!” Hilda beamed.

“Shut the front door!” Alexys shouted.

“Who?” Alex demanded in a teasing way.

“Oh…there is that Professor Smythe,” once again all eyes went to Alexys to see how she reacted but she kept her face still in the positive expression as she waited on the next name, “And Dr. Cerberus!”

“No way! Look at you! I’m glad you’re getting some action!”

“Who did you say yes to?” Alex asked, knowing it was what Alexys wanted to ask but could not.

“Oh, I don’t know! I said I would decide when I arrived!” she grinned.

“We will all be surprised but now it is my job to make sure my dear, sweet sister makes both these men eat their heart out,” Zelda said, grasping Hilda by the shoulders as she guided her away.

“Have fun you two!”

Nick held his hand out just as Luke held his out, “You ready?”

Alex and Alexys took their partners’ hand as they agreed, “Ready.”

The short drive was filled with laughter and music but once they stepped into the dance the mood changed.

It was very, very, _very_ clear that they were very, very, _very_ overdressed.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen:

The large cafeteria was decorated with large signs that held odd circular symbols and words that said “Final Dance! Full Circle!” There were snowmen, reindeer, elves, and giant snowflakes accompanying each circle-clad sign. Large banners hung with similar symbols that made Alex and Alexys stare at it curiously.

“That looks…odd…”Alex spoke quietly to Alexys as they looked at one in particular.

“It does,” she agreed. She pulled her small velvet back from off her shoulder and inside grasped her journal with her pen, “I’ll draw it.”

“That’s a good idea. I haven’t seen your updates. What else are you writing in that?” Alex glanced over curiously.

Alexys drew quickly with her pen all the round glyphs she could find, “Just dreams and stuff. You know. Regular journal things.”

Alex noticed then the reason for her answer. Students around them took to looking at them and mumbling to each other. Across the cafeteria clumps of individuals also in black kept the same pointed looks that they always did. If Alex had hair on his arms they would stand. The whole event had a feeling of anticipation that made him afraid of what could occur.

“I think we should stay for an hour then head out,” Alexys closed her journal and returned it to her bag.

“To find ourselves?” he confirmed.

“Yeah, I don’t remember what time that all happened and we can find a way sneak o—”

“They had something called RC Cola. Is that okay?” Nick handed over her cup.

“Yeah, that’ll do,” she smiled, leaning over to place a kiss upon his cheek.

Luke and Alex shared a welcoming kiss, “Your ginger ale is here. You s _ure_ you don’t want a drink drink?”

“You know what happens to me when I do!” Alex blushed, horrified by the thought of turning red in front of the whole student body.

“It’s cute,” Luke smiled, as he took a sip of whatever concoction he and Nick consumed.

“It’s _definitely_ not,” Alex protested.

The two continued their playful banter as Alexys looked to Nick, “Want to dance?”

His face seemed to light up and even behind his sunglasses she saw his eyes widen with excitement, “Yeah, let’s go.”

They placed their drinks back and moved to the center of the dance floor. Immediately the others around them separated. It was either for fear of stepping on her dress or to simply get away from the weirdoes that decided to dress as if it were some gothic prom. Regardless of why, Alexys appreciated the distance around her and her handsome Nick. She desired to spend as much time with him as she could before whatever the “Awakening” in the Dean’s planner meant and before she and Alex uncovered the true mysteries of what brought them to Greendale.

Her arms wrapped around Nick’s neck as his arms circled her waist and they swayed to the gentle tunes of some band she had never heard. In the rush for the dance she had told Alex about her dream and they discussed what it could possibly mean. Her dreams had long been an avenue for processing complicated events but there had been times where her dreams had come true. They went down every thread of imaginings until they found themselves both sad and resolute in their desire to get to the end of the situation. Part of that meant either accepting that Nick and Luke weren’t real or figuring out a way to convince the Doctor to allow them to emerge from this universe to theirs.

Along with the discussion came the possibility of opening the fob watches that held the essence of the Doctors. They considered the pros and cons but decided to leave them for fear that it would provoke a greater threat than they were aware of. The end of their talk came with one final solution: enjoy the dance and meet themselves at the ‘Welcome to Greendale’ sign.

“What are you thinking about?” Nick asked, pulling her in closer to him so that their faces were almost touching.

“I’m thinking about how good we look,” she gave a glance around to the eyes that still stared between them and Alex and Luke.

He chuckled, “We do look pretty good, don’t we?”

“Did we go a little overboard?” she mused.

“Absolutely but might as well give everyone a little show before break, right?”

“I’d like to give you a show,” she teased.

“And I’d be happy to watch,” they kissed.

There was no way he could be anything but her Nick. They had talked about his childhood and memories and pain and heartbreak he had encountered all in his life. Sure, it could have been made up. Yet, the emotion was entirely genuine. The emotion he expressed when they kissed and were wrapped in each other’s arms could not be manufactured. It was real. He and the way he felt for her and she for him was real. It had to be.

Luke and Alex off to the side held onto each other’s fingers as they commented on everything about the dance from the Dean to Garrett. Over the course of their time together they had discovered their similar cynicism for the overly cheery and false positivity that surrounded them. Though most of their conversations continued in flattery and confessions of feeling and desire…their conversations turned to a more humorous tone. They motioned toward the bake sale that _continued_ to go on despite the dance. So many of the cookies or brownies or pies contained unnecessary phrases such as “God is Good,” “Straight Out of Greendale,” and the loathsome “Live, Laugh, Love.”

Hilda even shared her distaste for the lovely ladies that felt it necessary to make such statements with their baking. It was a pleasure to see Hilda throwing shade at the other members of her committee as well as seeing her show authority. Nice as she could be she still knew how to wave the power around. They had expected her to stay and man the booth during the dance but as the leader she declared to the other members that it was time for her to take a break. All of this allowed Luke and Alex to comment with no guilt.

“And another thing! Brownies are supposed to be brownies. Why do they have to manipulate such a tasty treat for their agenda?”

Perhaps it was the alcohol in Luke’s system but he had been going in on the use of foods as a means of propaganda. Alex laughed as he put his arm around Luke’s and shook his head, “I don’t know but I am _loving_ your passion for this.”

“I should slow down, huh?” Luke looked at his drink, “I’ll slow down.” 

“It’s up to you,” Alex smiled at the man. Luke had only one drink but it was strong enough that he was definitely already tipsy.

“I just want to enjoy my time with you. I don’t want any distractions. Just you and me and how great we look tonight,” Luke put his empty cup down and grabbed Alex’s hands in both of his.

“I can get behind that,” Alex smiled, following the pull of Luke to the dance floor as a pop song came on.

Together they found a spot beside Nick and Alexys who made noises of joy at the sight of the other half of their party. Alex and Alexys immediately grasped hands as they began a light hop to the music while Nick and Luke took turns with a half serious dance off. The two laughed at their men and soon a small group of Greendale attendees surrounded them as if they were the entertainment. Nick motioned toward Alex to join the center of their dance but Alex declined until a cheer from Luke had him doing that incredible arm wave that was his signature move. The crowd let out a cheer of surprise by the impressive move and once he was done Luke grabbed him by the face for a kiss. 

It continued that way for the rest of the song and when it was done the quartet left the fun they had created. They laughed, bumping against each other back to the side of the room they had designated for themselves. Alexys looked to the men with a wave of her hands, “I’m going to use the bathroom. You all wait right here.”

“Are you sure you want to go alone?” Nick grabbed onto her hand to keep her in place, “I can go with you.”

She leaned in and whispered, “I’m afraid if you come with me to the restroom there is no way I’m letting you walk out clothed.”

Nick blushed and kissed her, “Don’t tempt me, Spellman.”

“I’m waiting until we are safe from prying eyes for the tempting,” she winked.

He kissed her lips again then let go of her hand, “I’ll be right here.”

With that she turned away from the men and rushed her way to the bathroom. It took much too long for her to figure out how to go without ruining anything but afterward she was quite satisfied. She washed her hands, dried them, and bounced out of the stalls back to the dance.

“Smellpan.”

She froze and looked to see Professor Smythe in a handsome suit waiting for her. She blushed, “How long have you been waiting for me?”

He looked to his watch, “It’s been about seven minutes.”

“I had to figure out how to not mess up my dress,” she quickly explained.

He chuckled, “I had no other thoughts in mind. You look absolutely…breathtaking.”

Her face lit up into a thousand blushes and back came the feelings she thought she had gotten rid of with her love for Nick. She swallowed hard as she looked him over and thought of their wedding together, “You clean up well yourself.”

“Thank you,” he smiled before stepping off the wall to look deep into her eyes, “I was hoping for a dance this evening.”

“I-I’m here with Nick,” she stammered.

“Just one. Promise I won’t bite,” he extended his hand, “Unless you want me to.”

She internally screamed as her hand lifted without her control. The touch of his flesh on hers after so long of avoidance made her mind swim and out came out, “I suppose just one dance wouldn’t hurt.”

Back in the cafeteria Alex could see Nick and Luke stiffening as they scanned the faces of the room. Nick seemed to be staring at the entrance to the hall that Alexys had taken toward the bathrooms. When he was caught staring he blushed, “I just get worried…you know. With everything that’s happened.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Alex smiled reassuringly.

“I’ll go check on her,” Nick took a step but Alex stopped him.

“Trust me. If _you_ went to go look for her in the bathroom she would die. I’m sure she’s having technical difficulties with her dress. I’ll go check on her and if the issues are too technical,” he made a face of discomfort, “then I’ll come right back and grab you.”

Nick laughed, “Okay, fair enough.”

Alex walked out the path that he had seen Alexys take. The hall was relatively empty with only stray individuals leaning against walls and couples kissing out of obvious eyesight. The bathroom was all the way at the end and it split toward the left for women and the right for men. In the open walkway between both he called out, “Alexys?”

There was only silence that met him.

His brows furrowed and he looked back the way he had come. For a moment worry filled him until he heard her giggle around the corner. Alex turned his head to see her and Professor Smythe dancing very closely in the shadows of the other hall.

“Something in your eyes was so inviting. Something in your smile was so exciting. Something in my heart told me I must have you,” Professor Smythe sang quietly to Alexys the song they had first danced to.

Her face was red as she looked at him and her lips tingled with an ache to be kissed.

“Ahem!”

The two separated immediately and found Alex staring at them, “Alex!”

“Ah, look. Crimson and clover,” he smiled in regards to her wearing green and he wearing red. He looked absolutely pleased with himself without an ounce of shame.

“I was just coming to check how you made out with your gown,” Alex stepped further down the hall toward them to break up whatever sexual tension had been created with the dance.

“I-I…” Alexys couldn’t even think of a convincing lie.

Professor Smythe looked to her with a sigh of disappointment before taking her hand and bowing, “Thank you for the dance, Ms. Smellpan.”

“Professor,” she blushed as he kissed her knuckles and then walked away.

Alex waited until Alexys could meet his eye before hissing, “ _PLAYING WITH FIRE_!”

“ _I KNOW!_ ” she did her best to cover her face without messing up her makeup, “He was waiting for me to get out of the bathroom for a dance.”

“Weird!” he whisper-shouted.

“Cute!” Alexys replied back.

Alex looked down at his fitbit, “Okay, we’ve been here about thirty minutes. I guess we can wait another thirty and then go. How are we going to sneak away?”

Alexys pulled out at the bag draped over shoulder, “I don’t know but maybe we ca—”

The very loud sound of piano chords caught their attention and Alex looked to Alexys with furrowed brows, “Is that…?”

“You say: what if I go crazy? I say: that ain’t gonna happen. You say: what if I get lost? I say: you’ll just find your way back. You say: what if someone breaks my heart? I say: I’ll put it back together like I do,” came a strong voice over a microphone.

Alex gasped, “Luke!”

Alex took off running down the hall back toward the cafeteria while Alexys hobbled her way on heels as quickly as she could. When Alex emerged into the crowd he gasped to find Luke on a makeshift stage with none other than Pierce Hawthorne playing piano and kind hippie known as Vaugn Miller on guitar. Luke on stage pointed toward Alex and helping hands guided him up to the front.

“You say: what if I don’t catch the dreams that I’ve been out there chasing? What if when my fears show up I’m too afraid to face them? Well I can’t fight your battles but I sure can hold your hand and promise you...”

His hand extended toward Alex and Alex took it gently. The tears streaming down his face came from a deep place he didn’t even know existed. He wiped at them to the best of his ability but it didn’t work. His eyes were glued to Luke who sang the song of one of his favorite singers. He was in a fairytale and a dream come true all at once.

“…that the sky will still be up there and the sun will always shine. The stars will keep on falling for the ones who wish at night. The mountains won’t start moving and the rivers won’t run dry. The world will always be there and so will I.”

Luke continued his song to Alex with tenderness that made all of Greendale believe in love once again. The whole time they held hands while couples danced to the song just for them. Alexys had made her way in time to watch from the entrance of the hall which gave her the best view of both Alex and Luke’s face. In her hands she had her phone recording the event and the intimate kisses between pauses that Luke gave to Alex. She realized this was this entertainment Hilda had mentioned and it made her heart melt. She swore to herself that no matter what happened that evening she would never let anything get in the way of Alex and Luke. She would find a way to keep them together.

“And so will I…”

The song ended with a deep embrace between the two that made the crowd cheer. Nick found Alexys soon after, “I was worried about you. I was afraid you’d miss the surprise.”

Alexys blushed, putting her phone back into her velvet bag, “I had some technical difficulties with the gown and these heels are giving me a run for my money.”

“Come on, why don’t we take a seat?” he laughed, guiding her toward one of the lunch tables that was pushed off to the side to make room for the dance floor.

“I’d like that…especially since I’m pretty sure Alex and Luke are going to be using the Skylark for a little while…” she blushed as she looked at the two holding hands and walking to the exit with the keys to Nick’s car.

“Yeah,” laughed, “I figured that would happen but you know what. Luke deserves it. That was one hell of a song.”

“That it was,” she smiled, holding onto Nick’s shoulder as they walked off to take a seat.

Alexys counted the minutes until the hour she and Alex had promised was up. It was spent between Nick bringing her drinks, casual dances with him, and totally ignoring the moment she had with Professor Smythe. Her eyes drifted between the door and the number of students in the corner wearing black. Every time Nick went off to fetch a drink or a piece of food she seemed to add a new name to the list in her journal of students that had been…corrupted. In total she had about twenty names and in a community college that wasn’t much but all grouped together it promised to be…threatening.

“Alright, everyone!” the Dean put an end to the music and got the focus of everyone on the dance floor, “We are going to be doing a little something interesting this year. Our wonderful dance instructor Madame LeClair has done the honors of creating our Greendale Dance! Uh…Troy and Britta, would you care to help demonstrate?”

Troy and Britta moved to the stage with the Dean and Madame LeClair. The two stood side by side while the Dean and Madame moved also into position. Pierce took to the piano and said something that made Britta roll her eyes and hiss something back. The piano playing began and the count from the Madame of one, two, three, four.

Troy and Britta locked arms while Dean and Madame locked arms beside them. Both couples separately began moving to the music in clockwise circles while keeping their eyes focused on one another. After an eight count they switched arms and moved counterclockwise. After another four count, they switched back to clockwise for a good three turns then everyone joined into a group and grasped hands down by their hips. They all looked to their left as they moved to their right and then switched head directions and facial directions as well. This continued for twelve beats then they pushed their hands in the center, moved inward, then outward, then inward, and on the outward motion separated their hands and in a jazzy motion brought them back down. At that point Britta locked arms with the Dean and Madame Le Clair locked arms with Troy and the whole dance began again but at the end of the second go, before they switched partners, they extended their right leg into their little group and drew a half circle into the floor with their foot then switched legs and drew another half circle and then switched partners.

Pierce’s song came to an end and with it the demonstration.

The Dean was laughing while Troy grabbed onto Britta clearly dizzy and mumbling, “This is wrinkling my brain.”

“Alright, everyone. Get onto the dance floor and partner up!”

Nick looked to Alexys with a raised brow and she looked back to him with a nod of her head, “Let’s do it.”

The two took their place with their arms locked. Nick held that signature smirk he always did while Alexys could not hide how eager she was to participate in a dance that connected her with the school. The Dean seemed to have trouble picking a song but the insistence of what sounded like Jeff Winger made him jump into action.

_“If you change your mind. I’m the first in line. Honey, I’m still free. Take a chance on me. If you need me let me know. Gonna be around. If you’ve got no place to go when you’re feeling down.”_

As soon as the beat kicked in every couple began to turn clockwise. Alexys tilted her ear listening to the song with intrigue. She looked to Nick, “Who is this?”

“Oh…Alexys…I’m telling Alex you asked that,” he teased.

“What!” they switched arms and directions, “Just tell me!”

“It’s ABBA! How do you know Fleetwood Mac and _not_ ABBA?” he shook his head with mock disappointment.

“Well…the question isn’t how do I not know ABBA but why have you never showed me? Honestly, you’re the problem here.”

They continued teasing and flirting until they moved into the group of four and held hands as they moved in one motion with their head in the opposite direction. She could feel Nick’s hand pressing into hers as if in Morse Code and she was tempted to look at him and say “I don’t know Morse Code!” but she continued on enjoying the feeling of his hand. They switched partners and she suddenly had Vicki on her arm.

“Hey!” Alexys smiled, recognizing her as the woman that stabbed Pierce with her pencil.

“Hello,” she smiled shyly, “I like your dress.”

“Oh, thank you. I figured…you know what? It’s going to be winter break and I might as well spice things up.”

“I like what you guys did. The whole crimson and clover theme,” she smiled.

Alexys blushed, remembering what Professor Smythe had said, “Thank you. We wanted to be festive and dress for the season.”

“How do you think you did on the English Final?” she wondered.

“Oh man…I totally bombed!” Alexys shouted and made Vicki laugh in sympathy. They continued to talk about the failure that was the English final until they moved into the group circle dance again. They got to the part with the half circles and just when she was going to join Nick again she was grasped by Garrett.

The song changed to something that reminded her of a Madonna song and then continued in a completely different way. Garrett obviously and vocally counted the steps that they were supposed to take for the dance which made Alexys smile at his sweet character. Half way through he leaned in, “I heard you were caught in the Dean’s office. Is it because of his contract with the Church of Stillhet?”

“Wait? What? Contract?”

“Hold on,” they switched into the counterclockwise, “He’s turning Father Blackwood into the Religions professor as payment for something the Dean did but don’t tell anyone I told you!”

“I won’t…but wait. How do you know that?” she glanced around to see if she could find Alex so he could know too.

He was fixated on going back to clockwise and going around three times but when he felt comfortable he finally answered, “I heard him talking to Professor Wardwell after finals. I dropped my books outside of class and when I went to pick them up I heard her. She also sai—”

They were whisked into their group dance. Though she was supposed to look in the opposite direction she couldn’t help but to look at Nick for reassurance. He smiled warmly at her and they continued in their group circles and then returned to their original partners.

“What’s wrong? You look spooked,” instead of locking arms with her he moved his across her body to hold her close to him while they continued to move side by side.

“I don’t know. I’m just feeling lightheaded,” she answered honestly.

“Want to sit down?”

She opened her mouth to say yes but suddenly the clapping and sitar of a familiar song, “Wait, is this Rasputin by Boney M?”

“You know _this_ and not ABBA?” he chuckled, “You never stop surprising me.”

Alexys continued to sing as she entered the group dance with a new swing in her hips and excitement for the steps. Though it was relatively simple she put her own twist into the movements that made Nick laugh. Again he squeezed her hand in gentle movements that made her concerned for what it could mean but she glanced at him he was smiling.

She moved to go back to Vicki but the Dean shouted in the Mic, “Move to the group at your left!”

Alexys felt her arm get pulled and then gasped, “Alex!”

He chuckled, “I couldn’t miss a choreographed dance number!”

“Good! This is my favorite song!” she shouted excitedly, realizing she was closer to the center of the dance floor than before.

“ _This_ is your favorite song?” they switched directions in the midst of his confusion.

“Oh yeah!” she shouted and for emphasis she began singing, “Rah-Rah-Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen! There was a cat that really was gone!”

“I have to tell you about what happened outside!” Alex shouted excitedly.

“OMG did he propose?” she leaned in closer. 

“No, but I’m pretty sure we saw Willie and Wanda coming into the dance! They have to be here somewhere!” he looked around.

“Wait, which one’s Wanda again? I wrote it down but I keep getting confused!”

“It’s Cl— wait, I have to warn you about the group!”

It was too late.

Alexys felt the grip of Professor Smythe’s hand in hers and she felt her face burn bright. She saw him smile, “We meet again, Ms. Smellpan.”

“I’m afraid you’re looking in the wrong direction,” she smirked.

He laughed and looked in the proper way that he was supposed to as Alexys and Alex looked to each other with wide horrified eyes. The panic she felt by his suddenness out in the open made her desire for him plummet though she did feel the heat of his hand in hers. All she wanted to do was enjoy the dance with her best friend/cousin.

The time for the partner switch came and just as the Professor looked at her Luke grabbed her arm and she beamed with happiness, “Oh Luke!”

“I heard you liked this song?” he grinned.

“I do! And you?”

His answer was singing the next lyrics and she joined him with happiness, “In all affairs of state he was the man to please.”

“But he was real great when he had a girl to squeeze,” she sang back happily.

The two continued to sing the lines of the song until the group was combined. Alex had held polite conversation with the Professor but his real attention had been on Luke and Alexys. It filled his heart with such joy to see his best friend and the man he loved genuinely having fun together and the fun to continue when he joined. Alexys found herself between Luke and Alex and felt happiness at being in the center of their little union—especially with Luke just as into the song as she was.

The song changed just as she touched hands with the Professor and Alexys found herself rocking with the next song too. To her amazement the Professor began to sing to the song happily, making her laugh. He was acting so goofy she found that her uneasiness vanished and it wasn’t until the chorus that she realized what song it was.

“You spin me right round, baby right round. Like a record, baby. Right round right round.”

Alexys laughed happily, looking at the glee in everyone’s face but suddenly through the spinning she caught the eye of someone that made her blood run cold. Father Blackwood stood at the far end talking to Zelda while his eye was on Alexys. She looked around in search of the Twelfth Doctor but he was nowhere to be found. She tried to shout for Zelda but the song change overpowered her and suddenly she danced with Alex.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?” 

“It’s Zelda!” Alexys shouted, looking over the top of people’s head in search of where she had gone, “She’s with Father Blackwood.”

“Oh no!” He let go of her to start heading toward where he had last seen her but Luke grabbed him for the group spin as the Professor held onto Alexys.

“I need to go find my Aunt,” Alexys tried to pull from the Professor.

His grip remained firm, “Oh, she’s having a good time with Professor Smith. I see them talking now!”

Alex looked to Luke, “I have to find my Aunt!”

“Is something wrong with Hilda?” he asked concerned.

“It’s Zelda, we need to go!” Alex urged.

“Let’s go!” Luke confirmed and immediately grabbed Alex to help him navigate between the circling bodies.

“What’s going o—”

“Change groups!”

Alexys felt herself grabbed and when she turned around she was locked with Father Blackwood himself.

_“Tonight, I want to give it all to you. In the darkness there’s so much I want to do.”_

“Ms. Spellman, I have been meaning to make your acquaintance for quite some time.”

“Is that so?” Alexys asked, trying her best to pull free from the hold of the man.

“It is. Since we locked eyes at the Blue Moon Tavern I knew our fates were destined to intertwine I just never knew how deeply it would go. I never knew _you_ were the one we were searching for all along,” his eyes peered down on her in a way that felt more than mortal.

She was drawn, locked, paralyzed to listen to his words though she tried her best to pull back, “I disagree. I just went for the Astronomy Club. I wasn’t there to find you.”

“There is no need for lies between us, _Watcher_. We are far beyond that point.”

They moved to switch arms and she took that time to slip from his hold but was grabbed by another black-clad individual.

_“I was made for loving you, baby. You were made for loving me.”_

An iron grip held onto her along with the voice she knew familiar, “Father Blackwood isn’t done speaking with you.”

Alexys gasped. It was Vaughn but he had just played guitar for Luke and had been totally normal. Suddenly he was wearing black and the kindness of his blue eyes was swallowed by dark intent. Could it be possible for Father Blackwood to work so fast?

He let go of her for the next part of the dance and she ducked beneath his grasp and began to run toward the exit with the clear view through spinning groups. She made her way closer to the edge but was grabbed once again by Joey Elkins, a.k.a. white Abed. He looked down at her with a frightening sneer, “Your conversation with Father Blackwood isn’t over.”

She was suddenly shoved backward but was righted by strong arms. She looked up and saw that indeed it was Father Blackwood who began to turn with her once again, “There is no need to avoid the inevitable. Just tell me what you know.”

“I don’t know anything!” she shouted in fear.

He used the long nails of his free fingers to tug on her bag that held her journal, “Somehow I doubt that.”

Alexys pulled hard away from him, taking her bag with her and stumbling as far back as she could but she was once again caught in the grip of black-wearing students. Their words repeated, “Give us the journal. Give us the journal.”

She tried to pull her hands free but their hold was like steel.

Alexys looked around for someone to help and watched Alex already running out the door. She understood that her only hope was to run outside and meet herself and the Doctor and Alex at the sign. There was some deep alien magic controlling these people and she needed to figure out what scared the Doctor so bad to stop it. She looked around for anyone and suddenly the loud voice of the Dean, “Partner Change!” bellowed in her ears.

Immediately she elbowed the person at her side and sprinted as best as she could in wobbly heels through the grabbing hands. The exit was just strides in sight, so close she could feel the fresh air wafting in on the cold breeze. Her hand extended toward the night as if it would reach out to pull her through.

Slam!

“Alexys, I have to talk to you,” came the broken voice of Nick.

“I have to get out!” she pulled away from him, “We have to get out right now!”

“NO,” there was darkness in his eyes that frightened her.

“Nick…” for a moment she was afraid it was the darkness that belonged to the others but as she looked at him she saw it was a darkness of pain.

“We need to talk now and I can’t wait any longer,” he declared.

“We need to go now!” she cried, looking behind her to make sure she wasn’t being followed.

“You danced with the Professor when you said you were using the bathroom! You lied to me!”

“Wh-What?”

“Don’t even try to lie now!” he was crying, “Leonard told me!”

“What!” she snapped angrily.

“Pimpin’ ain’t easy but it sure is fun,” he shrugged as he walked by.

“Shut up, Leonard! I know you lick ice cream cartons and put them back on the shelf!”

“Alexys, how could you?” Nick cried.

“Nick, please. If we could just talk in the car or talk outside? It’s not safe he—”

BOOM.

Loud booming thunder crackled across the sky far too familiar.

The two jumped into each other’s arms as they looked out at the night sky. No one inside the Cafeteria seemed to notice but Nick and Alexys shivered in fear. They looked to each other in shock and terror waiting for the next t—

BOOM!

They screamed and turned in toward each other.

When they looked outside once again they saw the familiar compasses on the ground before them. It was just like it had been the morning after the Bonfire. The only difference was that there seemed to be exponentially more of the golden watches on the ground.

“Why is nobody noticing!” Nick shouted.

Alexys turned back and saw in the middle of the crowd a long arm extend into the air. She saw the hand and saw long, pointy nails. The hand waited as the people spun and spun for their final group turn in the dance and then the hand closed and along with it came absolute silence.

Silence except for a vibrating click.

Alexys and Nick looked out to the golden watches littering the ground.

The compasses had opened.

Nick looked to Alexys and gripped the back of her head with seriousness, “I think you should sleep over my house tonight.”

She nodded in fear, crushing herself against his chest as she felt tears spilling from her eyes, “We need to find Alex and Luke. They ran outside!”

He nodded and they joined hands to leave. They made sure to walk around the watches as they searched for the two they held dear to their heart. Together they found their way to the student parking lot where the red Buick sat but it was empty.

Alexys felt tears spilling as she imagined the worst.

“Oh, hey guys!”

They spun to their left and saw Alex and Luke walking at a diagonal from the street.

“Where _were_ you!” Alexys cried as she ran to Alex and threw her arms around him.

“We ran out here to find Zelda and Hilda but I guess they went home,” he pulled back and grabbed her arms gently, “Are you okay?”

She ignored the question, “Did you see anything?”

There seemed to be a loss of understanding but suddenly it registered and shook his head, “No, I didn’t see anything.”

“Guys, let’s all sleep over my house,” Nick repeated again.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen:

The drive to Nick’s house was slow and steady. He kept his high beams on in an attempt to driver around the compasses as if they were tiny potholes that would destroy the tires he maintained so well. While they drove Alexys kicked off her heels, massaged her feet, and told the terrifying tale of what the Church of Stillhet had tried to do—saving the details of her journal for Alex when they were alone.

As Alex listened to the horrifying details he couldn’t help but feel incredible amounts of guilt washing over him. He had been so swept up with Luke and so swept up with finding Zelda that he left his best best friend alone in such a dangerous situation. The troubling part was that he didn’t even find Zelda! He recalled him convincing Luke to “check for Zelda” at the welcome sign but they didn’t even make it. They just ran back to the school only to have to duck for cover under a pavilion as more of the compasses fell from the sky.

Alexys looked back to Alex and they exchanged a knowing glance. He looked around to the companions with them and knew he had to try to figure out a way to get her alone. There was a missing element to the story he needed to know.

The rest of the car ride was spent with Luke and Nick exchanging shock at what had happened. There were plans to talk to the Dean and Nick finally asked for the weather guy’s phone number. It seemed suddenly the two had become outraged enough to want to take charge and make change.

When they arrived to Nick’s house they were surprised by what they saw. Alexys realized she had never once visited his home and he never much talked about it. She knew that his family owned many properties in Greendale with this being one of them. It was an old duplex with a large rectangle front that protruded forward and contained a single garage door and above that two squares of three windows stacked directly on top of one another. Two other rectangles of house were positioned slightly behind the first were the exact mirror of each other with red staircases that lead up to red doors. The house was brown but in the dark of night it appeared it could have been black. There was an ancient quality that made it both great and mysterious.

Nick bounded up the left steps, “My aunt and uncle are letting me stay here while they travel. I’m supposed to be the ‘landlord’ but the other tenant moved out a few months ago so it’s been just me. I left the other side in good condition so you two can take it over, if you want. Just need the keys from upstairs.”

They followed him, Alexys using the help of Alex and Nick to get up the stairs with her aching feet. She looked to Alex, “Can you help me get out of this thing, though? Before you go? Zelda will kill me if I do anything to damage it.”

“Of course, I’ll absolutely help you.”

Nick flipped a switch and a carpeted staircase was made visible toward the second floor. Everyone took off their shoes and continued up with excitement at what Nick’s living situation would be like. When they reached the second floor their excitement diminished to an almost “duh” capacity. There wasn’t anything surprising about his home. It was very _Nick._ To the right of the steps was the living room that had a very basic, modern design. There were some very Nick details but overall it was simple. The couch looked big and comfy and the TV was large and the curtains were dark and there were some candles that seemed left over from when his family was home.

In front of them was the kitchen that split the area by a large diagonal in the floor that shifted it from carpet to hardwood. The kitchen was simple too. The walls were decorated with a white rectangle of brick layering, the cabinets, fridge, and even oven were all black. The counters and island top were a dark granite and surrounding the island were little stools. The coolest part was the hanging lights but even that was a basic design. 

There was evidence of him getting ready before the dance. Some clothes were laid around along with a few bowls in the sink. Alexys found herself smiling. She couldn’t shake the feeling of intimacy with being allowed to enter his home. It was nice.

“My uh, my bedrooms in here. That door over there is the bathroom. I’ve got some clothes you can change into in that drawer,” Nick lead them down a short hallway. “We’ll be just out here.”

Alexys opened the door to the left and waited for Alex to enter before shutting it. They silently screamed out their emotions over what had happened before looking around the room. He owned a king-sized bed with a dark bed set. The furniture was a dark wood and the curtains were blackout curtains. The carpet was the same fresh, soft beige but there was another carpet that looked more like a comfy sweater than anything else. She leaned down to pick it up. It was a sweater.

“Tell me everything!”

“Okay, okay,” she pulled her velvet bag off her shoulder and threw it on the bed, “They wanted that. They wanted to know what I knew. They wanted Father Blackwood to have me.”

Alex made sure to look in the opposite direction while Alexys worked to unfasten herself from the dress, “How do they know about the journal?”

“I don’t know! Maybe they saw me drawing the symbols on the signs? Oh—! Garrett told me that Father Blackwood is going to be the new Religions professor as ‘payment’ for something.”

“What? There’s only four days left before winter break? Why now?” Alex went back in his mind to think of all the odd stuff that had happened with the Dean before looking to her again, “We missed our chance to see the Doctor but at least now we know what the ‘awakening’ is.”

“What is it?” Alexys wondered, grabbing some clothes from the drawer Nick indicated.

“The compasses. I just wonder how they did it _and_ made more come down. There’s no doubt that Father Blackwood, the Church of Stillhet, the compasses, and the Dean are all connected but _how_? They’re definitely using some form of mind control to make followers. Did you see how upset Luke was about Vaughn? They’re actually friends!” Alex exclaimed.

“You’re right. But how do we narrow down which ones?” Alexys wondered, letting out a deep breath, “There are a lot…like a lot a lot of creatures that use that or hypnosis or even technology to control people! Even the Doctor can do it. We have no clue where to begin.”

“I think I have a clue,” Alex smirked to himself.

“What?” She moved so that Alex would know she was done dressing.

“Abed would _definitely_ know where to start,” Alex smirked.

Alexys looked at him with a tightlipped expression—clearly still not over the meeting with Abed and Troy—as she nodded, “He _would_ know. But do you think enough of the show has enough of the history we need?”

“I’m positive,” Alex smiled before moving to help Alexys take the circlet out from her hair, “What happened with you and Nick?”

Alexys frowned, looking into the mirror to look at Alex, “Leonard told him about me dancing with Professor Smythe. He was…crying. I really hurt him. I don’t know how he can be so nice to me right now.”

“It’s because you’re an incredible person and he loves you,” Alex smiled.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Alexys blushed, “We haven’t really said those words yet.”

“Well, you don’t need to say those words for it to be true. It’s obvious the way he looks at you. Yes, it’s upsetting that you were dancing alone, in an empty hallway, while he sang to you…” each time he added a detail he gave Alexys a pointed look, “But it’s not something that he can harbor against you. He just needs to express himself and figure out why it’s happening?”

“How do I explain that me and him were _married_ in a past life?” she frowned.

Alex looked away with a loss of words, “You’re on your own with that one.”

Alexys laughed then gave Alex a huge hug, “I was so worried about you.”

“You? About me! I’m worried about you now! I can’t believe I left you behind like that. I am _so_ sorry,” he stepped back to look into her eyes, “I _promise_.”

“I promise too,” Alexys smiled, “We’ve got each other and, no matter what happens, that is an advantage.”

They stepped back and looked to each other with certainty. Alex extended his right hand, Alexys placed her left hand to her chest, and they completed their handshake together. Tap. Tap.

A knock on the door came from Luke, “Hey, guys. We ordered some pizza. Nick’s getting it now.”

“Yes!” they both shouted and left the room.

By the time they finished eating an hour had passed. Alex was exhausted and so Nick walked them to the other side of the house. He gave them tips and information they would need to know along with the promise that a cleaner would come in a few days to spruce it up anyway. Alex genuinely gave his thanks to the man then they entered the home. It was the exact same layout as Nick’s just on the first floor.

The décor was a bit warmer and homier.

It was exactly what Alex needed after the turn of events.

Strong arms wrapped around Alex so tight he had hardly any chance to prepare. He looked back to see it was Luke around him and with that knowledge he returned the embrace with the same strength. He felt Luke’s shaky breath along with a moisture that promised tears. Once again Alex had that guilty feeling for bringing Luke into this sort of mess. The last thing he wanted was for the man to get hurt.

“Alex,” he whispered his name as he pulled away and held onto the man’s face tightly, “I don’t know what’s going on and…I’m afraid.”

“Luke…I-I’m so sorry. I should have never put you in danger like that. I shouldn’t ha—”

“No! No, you did the right thing. You did what I want you to keep doing. I want you to call me, to ask me to help you, to do whatever! I’m afraid because I don’t want you to get hurt. I feel horrible that I pulled you away from your cousin and she got wrapped in the middle of that…but I don’t know what I would do if something like that happened to you. I don’t know what I’d do if I suddenly saw you with those assholes,” he pulled slightly with the intention of wiping his nose with his sleeve but Alex stopped him.

The two laughed as they realized the clothes they were wearing were still _really, really_ nice. Alex walked toward the living room and grabbed Luke a tissue from a box that was sitting on the edge, “Don’t worry about me. I am _very_ confident in my ability to not be persuaded by religion.”

“I believe it,” Luke wiped at his face before throwing out the tissue and taking off his blazer. “Shit! We left our coats at the coat check.”

Alex tried to think if he had left anything important in his pockets but knew he was fine, “We can just go back tomorrow and get it. I’m sure we’re not the only ones.”

“You’re right,” Luke kissed the top of Alex’s head, “I’m exhausted. Come on, Nick said we could find a change of clothes in the master bedroom. He said since no one’s using it yet they’ve been putting their extra stuff down here.”

“ _This_ all is extra stuff?” Alex motioned toward the living room.

“No,” he chuckled, “That’s all for the realtors.”

When Alex and Luke left Alexys remained sitting on the couch with her legs propped up on the ottoman. Her feet were blistered and bruised from having little experience in heels and then deciding to dance and sprint in them. She knew Nick would come back with a discussion for her she did not know how to handle but she knew she had to.

The door opened and she listened patiently as he walked up the stairs. When he got to the top he walked to the kitchen to open the freezer. He said not a word.

“Nick…I know a lot has happened but we still need to talk. I am s—”

He turned around to reveal he was holding a rag filled with ice for her. He gave her a brief smile as he moved to sit on the couch beside her, “But your legs here.”

She looked nervously to him but obliged.

Immediately he began icing the tender spots of her feet.

“Nick, why are you being so nice to me right now?”

“Because…I can’t imagine what life would be like without you. Hearing what had happened while I saw red instead of seeing you were in danger? I feel so…guilty. You danced with the guy…so what? Did you kiss him?” Nick looked at her with eyes afraid of the answer.

“No,” she shook her head with full honesty.

“And you didn’t do any more than that?”

She pushed his arm lightly to show her offense, “Of course not!”

He chuckled, looking down with a small smile before looking back to her, “Okay then. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s not a big deal?” she raised a brow, knowing that it had been a very, very big deal before.

“It’s not,” he leaned over to kiss her forehead as he took her hand, “I just need to know. Are you with me?”

She nodded her head, “I’m with you.”

“You’re with me, I’m with you,” he smiled.

She repeated what he said, “You’re with me, I’m with you.”

“Good, now let’s get some rest,” he kissed her again.

In the morning everything felt like a dream. Nick, Luke, and Alex made breakfast together while Alexys slept in late. Luke made eggs, Nick cooked bacon, while Alex made pancakes and they listened to music that Alex really enjoyed. Alexys woke up by the time it was done and they all sat on the couch and ate the meal together.

When they were up to it, they decided to do what they did the morning after the Bonfire. With large bags they walked around collecting the compasses that had fallen the night before. Other people in the neighborhood worked to sweep them out of the road while some promised the town would do it. Once Nick’s neighborhood was clean they returned to the Spellman home to finish the same work.

Nick and Luke kept the compasses and promised to get them to the weather guy—who Alexys had given them the number for. They kissed with goodbyes and left with a wave. Alex and Alexys ran inside.

“Aunties!”

But there was no answer.

They rushed up to Alexys’ room and pulled the compasses they had hidden in their pockets. She rushed to the secret hiding place and pulled out the bag with the old ones inside. To their surprise the ones in the bag had popped open too. Together they dropped the contents on the bed to compare. They found it was the exact same.

“If it’s the exact same why bother having them drop again?” Alexys wondered.

“They did it because we got rid of most of them the first time around. I still think this is to get the Doctor’s attention. How do you do that? With lots of cracks and Time Fissures.”

“Oh, right! The Time Fissures. How does this make that?” she wondered looking over the item in hand.

“It most likely has some sort of travel element to it. We just have to figure out what it does.”

It was just as she had remembered seeing the first time it was in the Doctor’s palm. It looked like a golden fob watch on the outside but the inside resembled some sort of stop watch with all the tiny ticks. It had no numbers but it had a small dial on the inside and a tiny arrow that pointed to one of the ticks. She moved the dial backward 0.0001 of centimeter and when she did she found the dial became a button.

She pressed the button and WAP.

“How do you do that? With lots of cracks and Time Fissures.”

Alexys jumped, accidently making her press the button again.

“It most likely has some sort of travel element to it. We just have to figure out what it does.”

Alexys threw the thing away from her and onto the bed as she ran toward the other side of the room.

Alex looked to her in a shock, “What happened! What’s wrong!”

“I know what it does!” she cried out.

“What! What?” Alex shouted, throwing the thing onto the bed as she had.

Alexys pointed and with horror yelled as if she were yelling at a spider crawling on the floor, “It goes backward in time!” 


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen:

They realized quickly that going forward in time was not a possibility for the device. One experiment allowed Alex to go in the past five minutes. When he tried to spin the dial forward it only allowed him to go to however much time passed since he pressed the button but no further. The last experiment allowed Alexys to go backward half an hour to when Nick and Luke were dropping them off. She quickly pressed the button and found that it sent the user back to default. She made sure to jot down all her notes along with sketches of the golden compass in her journal.

Her notes included:

“ _Works similar to DBs timewalking so no extra copies_

_Get put into place you were at the time (clothes and all)_

_Can bring items with you_

_Creates Time Fissures_

_Possibly Creates New Time Lines_ ”

Along with:

“ _Portable_

_Probably could be used as a weapon_

_Definite Time Lord Technology_ ”

And lastly:

“ _Don’t show Nick_ ”

“Do you know what this means?” Alex asked as he looked down at the device on the bed, “We can go back to all the missed opportunities we’ve had. I can follow the Doctor instead of bumping into the Dean. I can go to the Church of Stillhet the night of the Bonfire. We can see what scared the Doctor!”

“Alex…we can’t use this.”

“Why not? It’s the only thing we have that can help us against Father Blackwood!” Alex looked to Alexys with absolute confusion.

“It’s too unpredictable. We’ve seen what using it can do. It creates the Time Fissures!”

“We don’t know that. The Time Fissures go back to Christmas. It doesn’t go back to Hannukah,” he countered.

“It _awakened_ on Hannukah. Come on, Alex. Imagine every anxious person getting their hands on these? Do you know how many people are going to use it to fix being embarrassed in front of their crush or failing a test o-or having multiple orgasms over and over again with their partner!”

“Whoa, that last one there. Gotta say, that is not where my mind went. That is _very_ telling,” Alex chuckled softly at the way she blushed.

“I-I well…I’m sure I’m not the only one! Father Blackwood wants us to use this and we don’t know why. We have to make sure it’s out of everyone’s hands before it’s too late.”

Alex looked at his friend feeling as though it were a mistake to not use the only thing that could help them against the mysterious forces at work in Greendale but also feeling as though she could possibly be right. He sighed and looked away, “How do we know who has them and who doesn’t? How do we know if they’re even being us—”

_December 1 st _

The air was strange.

Or perhaps it was not the air but the particles reacting to the wrong thing occurring around them. The English classroom had an oversaturation of color to it as well as a strong brightness that was not normal. Professor Schmidt seemed to be in the middle of a sentence with fez in hand.

Alex and Alexys looked to each other in the middle of a breath.

“—inspiration for Hamlet,” Professor Schmidt smiled.

Alex and Alexys seemed to be released by some invisible hand choking their throats. The two took in deep gulps of air as they scanned their surroundings. It was English class all over again.

“Now, can anyone tell m—”

The man threw his hat to the back of the room and everyone turned to see it land perfectly on a student named Todd’s head. Everyone shouted in surprise and clapped happily. Alex and Alexys made eye contact again—the way they remembered it was that he dropped it on the floor.

“Incredible! Would you look at that, Alexander? I would stick very close to him. Adaptability is a rare quality to find,” the Professor praised before walking to his little notebook and writing something down, “Extra credit for the both of you!”

_Present_

Alex and Alexys fell to their knees as if dropped back into the appropriate time.

“What the fuck!” Alex shouted while Alexys shouted something similar.

They were shivering, suddenly so very cold as if they had been traveling through the tundra. Alexys ran to her closet and grabbed two sweaters for them to wear then returned to the bed, “We went back in time and it changed!”

“It had to be Todd, that _fucker_!” Alex was angered by the fact that someone had altered time to gain favor with the Doctor that he had rightfully earned.

“You see! You see! People are going to keep…doing that!” she shouted, rubbing her arms as if to rub off the space feeling.

“Not if everyone else keeps feeling what we just did!”

“I don’t think they are! We were the only ones affected by it. Did you see the class? It was normal! Now everyone has a memory of Todd catching it on his head! That’s reality now!” She grabbed her journal and began plotting down what had occurred, “What day was that?”

“December 1st! I don’t even remember Todd dropping the hat! I just remember Hamlet!” Alex collapsed backward on the bed with exasperation.

“Why would he change that? It wasn’t a big deal!” Alexys made sure to note the original memory and the new one.

“I see two possibilities. He is a perfectionist and that moment was crushing to his ego…or he was just testing it out,” Alex looked to Alexys with concern of what else that could mean for them.

“Both those possibilities are terrifying. Either we’re going to be subject to fixing people’s most embarrassing moments or we’re going to be part of their experiment.”

“Honestly, it’s probably going to be both,” Alex leaned up to grab his milk on the bedside table. “I didn’t feel this when me and you tried it. Do you think anyone else did?”

“I don’t know…I doubt it though. I think we were the only ones and I think it’s because we’re from the ‘wrong timeline’ or something,” she made sure to write that hypothesis.

“Or because we are the ‘awesome and powerful—”

“Great and mysterious.”

“—watchers.’ Don’t think I forgot about that or how much of a _dick_ Johnny Cash was,” Alex shook his head at the memory.

“Leave that man alone,” Alexys playfully warned, “But really I think the only reason we didn’t feel it when _we_ were experimenting is because it’s _us_. Also we only went back a few minutes at _most_. We just went back almost two weeks!”

Alex was quiet a moment before looking to Alexys with seriousness, “Do you think it’s time to open the fob watches?”

“No,” she let out a deep breath, “Just a little more time to see what we’re dealing with.”

Alex nodded his head, “Ok—”

_December 4 th_

Alex and Alexys sat looking at the final on their desk.

The sound of a chair scrapping on the linoleum hit the room as a man shuffled out of the class in a hurry. The two looked at each other with confusion until they remembered someone had farted in the class. There was suddenly no fart.

_Present_

“—ay! Fuck!” Alex drank more milk.

Alexys shook even deeper, “On the bright side. I condone this one. I think we just helped some guy stop from pooping his pants.”

Even in Alex’s frustration he couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

“How are we supposed to survive day to day if this keeps happening?” Alexys frowned, shoving all the compasses back into the bag in the hopes of shielding them back under the floorboard.

“I don’t know…I still think using them is our only option,” Alex watched with an itch to stop her that he suppressed.

“I think we should exhaust all of our other resources.”

“We don’t have any other resources,” he pointed out.

“We do! Maybe we can talk to Professor Smythe and Professor Smith to see if they’ve had any weird dreams. You can talk to Abed. We can talk to that weather guy to figure out what he really knows about these things. We have other options!” Alexys strained to speak as she put the bag deep into the hole under her bed.

Alex let out a sigh, “I guess you’re right. We should go to the campus today and see what’s happening. We might be able to bump into everyone there.”

“True!”

“I’m going to take a shower first,” Alex walked toward the door.

“Me too! I washed my face last night but it definitely was _not_ enough,” she frowned. Before Alex left she called his name to get him to stop.

“Yeah?”

“We’re going to get the bottom of this,” she said with assurance.

He let a small smile cross his lips as he nodded, “We are.”

With that they walked to their respective bathrooms. There was an urgency to wash off the muck of what had occurred the night before. There was still a sense of exhaustion and fear that needed to be processed through. Also, both Alex and Alexys just wanted to be alone for a few short moments. They didn’t realize it but it was the first time their partners were not around. Though they loved to spend time with Luke and Nick it was nice to have some time to just be in silence.

Alex reached his bathroom quickly and turned on the shower to get the warm water flowing. He took off his glasses then looked in the mirror. Immediately he noticed the cowlicks that must have been present the entire morning. He cursed his hair then his friends for not telling him they had been so obvious. Though…it was nice to know something didn’t change.

_December 7 th_

“Oh, dear, could you pass the toast?” Hilda questioned.

Alex swallowed hard as he nodded, “Yes, Auntie.”

Alexys at his side squeezed the fork in her hand as if to calm her nerves.

“Is everything alright, love?” Hilda wondered.

Alexys repeated Alex’s statement, “Yes, Auntie.”

_Present_

Alex gripped the sink as he looked back in the face of the mirror. He tried to ground himself. He let out all the air from his lungs then took in a long deep breath for four seconds. He held this breath for seven seconds and on the seventh—

_December 3 rd_

The town hall meeting was packed with the same faces. Alex and Alexys were shoulder to shoulder and he immediately felt her arm circle his for comfort. They looked around for the look of someone on a mission but everyone appeared the same. It was before the weatherman began talking so everyone was shouting nonsense ideas about why the compasses fell from the sky. They were all still useless.

At the front Alex saw the mayor pull something out of his pocket and noticed him take some sort of pain medication.

He had certainly not done that before.

_Present_

—Alex shoved the air out of his lungs then began hyperventilating. During the town hall meeting he had been breathing fine but back in the present it felt as though he had held his breath for hours. He rushed to turn off the shower for fear of what would happen while he was in the middle of stepping in.

_December 1 st_

Alex was back on his date with Luke in the middle of hearing his story about bed wetting. Once again he was overcome with the amusement he felt when he heard it the first time. There was nothing in the moment he desired to change. It was all just something he wished to enjoy over and over again.

And then he remembered Rose.

_Present_

The idea remained. Rose had been far kinder on the night of his date with Luke than when he had met her with Alexys. If he could go back to that moment and really talk to her then there was a way he could get some sort of information. He could ask her if she had any strange dreams or anything like that. He could also go back to the day that he had lost the Doctor and he could really figure out what he was running away from.

_December 4 th_

“My precious Alexander, I’ve got your smoothie right here,” Hilda sang her words as she placed a large cold glass on the table right beside him.

Alex froze.

His eyes met Alexys who looked to him with the same fear.

“I’ve got a thermos in the fridge waiting for you. My dear Alexys, there is a thermos of tea waiting for you as well. I’ve also managed to pack you lunches. Today is a big day.”

_Present_

Alex made up his mind.

If people were going to be using the compass with no rhyme or reason then he would put reason and Alexys would put rhyme. He walked out of the bathroom with a mission. If Alexys would not give up the compasses she had tucked under her bed then he would just pick one up off of the street.

_December 2 nd_

It was the Bonfire and Alex danced with Luke to some song he had heard but never really cared for. He stiffened as he looked around in search of who could be redoing what event. There was the sight of Alexys talking to Professor Smythe and in the distance some shouting that quickly turned into laughter.

It was freezing.

_Present_

Alex returned to his body shivering. The inside of the Spellman home was warm but his body held the memory of where he had returned to just moments ago. He could not wait any lo—

_December 3 rd_

Luke slept quietly against Alex as the show played. They had discussed what a frightening experience it was to follow those trucks and to see what they were doing. Luke, in a frenzy, made Alex swear to always ask him for help and to not do anything like that alone.

Alex had agreed.

They spent the rest of the evening cuddling and enjoying their time together.

Alex did not want to change a thing.

_December 4 th_

Alex stood in the cafeteria watching the Dean and Professor Wardwell walking toward the Dean’s office where he knew they would catch Alexys and Professor Smythe. His body felt the effects of the compass but he shouted to them, “Wait!”

They paused, looking at him with pure suspicion in their eyes.

“Dean, you have a…” Alex rushed over to them with as many slow steps as possible. He then made a big show of leaning to the Dean and whispering, “You have a booger in your nose.”

The Dean gasped and looked away from Professor Wardwell, “I’m going to need to make a pit stop before the office!”

He rushed out with the woman behind him giving Alex a menacing look.

_Present_

—onger.

Alex began a brisk run to Alexys’ room as he recounted the changes that had been made. In Alex’s new memory, Alexys was able to make it out in time without having to tell the Dean about whatever surprise she had concocted. Professor Smythe and her also shared a loving embrace that could have turned to more if she hadn’t realized what was happening and urged them to leave.

_December 4 th_

The two stood in the kitchen while Hilda went off to make a phone call. Alexys and Alex looked to each other. It was the moment that Father Blackwood was to ask for Hilda’s assistance and though there was no direct outcome yet there was something to be done. Alex opened his mouth and shouted, “HILDA! ALEXYS IS EATING YOUR BANANA BREAD!”

“OH DEAR, YOU BETTER NOT!” she shouted from the other end of the house.

Alexys gasped, “How dare you!”

There was a moment of pause then Alexys grabbed a handful of the end of the loaf and stuffed it into her mouth with a fury she had never shown before.

_Present_

“Alex!”

He heard Alexys shout. It was no doubt in regards to what he had just done. In the new memory Hilda was unable to complete the call, Alexys got a scolding, and there was less banana bread to be sold. Because of that everyone wanted more because it was so good and there wasn’t enough and word got around.

_December 4 th_

It was the classroom again.

Day of the Finals.

Professor Wardwell sat at her desk while pencils scratched across papers. Alex looked to Alexys who looked at the paper with fury and then at Alex. She mouthed, “This better end now.”

It did not.

The final continued for the same exact amount of time.

_Present_

The sound of shouting from Alexys grew closer and closer as Alex reached the hallway to her room.

_December 2 nd_

Alex stood before his mirror as he planned what to wear for the Bonfire.

For a few seconds he seemed frozen with the shirt against him but when it wore off he threw the shirt to ground.

_December 7 th_

Alex opened his to see he was in an intimate moment with Luke. They were in his bed, grasping at each other, kissing passionately and wildly while one of his documentaries played in the background. Luke was doing that thing he did when he took Alex’s glasses and put them somewhere safe without breaking their connection.

But Alex faltered with that same feeling of color saturation and lung grip. It passed in a second though that second was enough. Luke held onto Alex’s face with a worried expression, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Alex lied, “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. What happened?”

_Present_

He stormed into the room while the sound of the shower being turned off met him. The new memory was that Alex had said he had to sneeze but it went away. They continued the kissing that worked up to deeper expressions of love. The history had hardly been altered for them.

But history was about to change for all of Greendale.

Alex popped open the floorboard while Alexys shouted and probably got redressed.

He pulled out one of the compasses as Alexys opened the door from her bathroom.

“Alex! Do— AHHH! It’s cold!” she shivered violently, “You’re not cold?

“What? I was before but nothing happened,” he looked to her with confusion.

Her eyes held the same confusion as she crossed her room for a sweater, “It was the night of the Bonfire again but it was before me and Nick had a talk. We were just standing around awkwardly. You were dancing with Luke.”

“That happened before…?”

“Yeah but it happened aga—in! Shit! It was the final again! WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE GOING BACK TO THE FINAL!” She collapsed on her bed with exhaustion, “I’m so tired! If I have to spend another two and a half hours!”

“Alexys…so far you’ve gone back twice?”

She nodded her head with a frown.

“I haven’t gone with you.”

“What? But you were there!” she moved across the bed to get closer.

“But I’ve been here talking to you the whole time,” he looked down to the compass he held in his hand, “I think it’s because I’m holding one of these.”

“What? Toss it to me.”

He followed her request a—

_December 8 th _

It was in the Cafeteria of Greendale.

Alex sat at a table with Luke, Nick, and Alexys for lunch. He looked down at his plate and recalled the sandwich they all got had hidden peppers. He pushed the plate away and instead snacked on some of the fries they offered.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.

Nick took a bite then with a covered mouth shouted, “Oh, peppers. Definitely peppers you don’t want this.”

Alex smiled, “Yeah, thanks. I’ll just eat these fries.

_Present_

—nd was amazed by the results.

She pointed at him and gasped, “I didn’t do anything but you changed my memories! You changed the sandwich! You didn’t eat the peppers!”

Alex dropped down and grabbed one of the compasses from the bag, “I think as long as we’re holding one of these we won’t go back when other people are messing with time.”

“If Nick catches me with one of these he’s going to be so upset,” Alexys frowned. “But it’s worth it. I stepped in the shower and then I was back at the Bonfire and then back here and…MY BODY CAN’T TAKE THAT!”

Alex looked to her with sympathy, “I was trying to do the 4, 7, 8 breathing technique.”

Alexys looked at him in horror.

“I got stuck on the seven.”

“No! Alex, what are we going to do?” she fell backward on the bed in exhaustion.

“I think…I think we split up. I think you go talk to who you want to talk to and I go…the alternate route,” he motioned toward the compass in his hand.

She was quiet for a moment then nodded, “Fine. But now that we’re going to mess with time anyway can we do it tomorrow? I just took two finals today and I need a _nap_.”

Alex laughed, “Okay, I’m right there with you.”


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen:

When the evening came Alexys was restless. She had gone to bed in a pair of thick flannel pajama bottoms that had pockets so she could keep the compass in it comfortably but that didn’t seem to be the issue. The issue was that she was anxious to the point that she felt she would cry if something did not change. She tried different positions to sleep in, tried having her phone with Netflix on, then her phone with ocean sounds on. She did everything she could think of but there was no calm from the storm inside of her.

And then there was a creak at her window.

She screamed then pointed the flash of her phone at the sound to find Nick Scratch climbing into it her room with a roguish smile, “Hello, beautiful. Thought I’d surprise you with a little midnight romance.”

“A text would do!” she was shaking.

He rushed to the bed and took her hands into his, “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head in a near panic, “I don’t know. I’m freaking out.”

“Hey,” he put his hand behind her head so that he could guide her forehead to his, “Why don’t you sleep at my place tonight? I’ll drop you off early in the morning before class starts. Let’s just get you out of the house.”

She chewed on her lip nervously before nodding, “Okay.”

He kissed her and smiled, “Alright, let’s go.”

Alexys packed only a small bag with her journal and her phone charger in it. Instead of climbing through the window—like Nick insisted—they tiptoed out of the house and through the back door. The movement made Alexys feel better and the joy of “sneaking out” brought with it an excitement that made her nerves jump in different ways. In the Buick, Nick began to drive as if they had made a jailbreak. It made her laugh.

“Here, why don’t you lay your head on my lap until we get there,” he offered.

She blushed, “Are you trying to do what I think you’re trying to do.”

He laughed, “That wasn’t my intention but I’ll take what I can get.”

“You, sir, will get nothing while you are driving,” she laid her head down and sunk into the relaxing feeling of his hand playing with her hair.

She was surprised that in the short drive she had fallen asleep.

Nick woke her up with a light shake and tender words.

Alexys yawned and sat up from her place to look out of the window at Nick’s house. She had already begun to think of it as home away from home. When she stepped out she immediately felt at ease but realized she forgot her bag, “I dropped m—”

“I got it,” Nick gave her a little wink as he grasped her bag and then shut the door.

They reunited hands as they walked up the steps and when they got inside she threw her arms around Nick and gave him a hero’s kiss. He held her tight like some sort of knight in shining armor and she enjoyed the feel of the fantasy. The only thing he had saved her from was anxiety and restlessness but it was a feat worth celebrating.

When they pulled back from the kiss she smiled, “I’m going to use the bathroom. Meet you in the room?”

He nodded his head, “I’ll meet you there.”

Alexys did not really have to use the bathroom. Her decision for rushing to it was to freshen up for cuddling that would inevitably lead to something else. She wondered how she could pull it off with keeping the watch in her pocket but decided she would figure it out in the moment.

When she finished she walked out with a happy smile, “Nick, I really feel so much be—”

“What is this?”

In Nick’s hand was her journal and she had no response.

“Tell me, Alexys, what is all of this?”

“It’s my dream journal. Why are you looking through it? You’re invading my privacy!” her voice was strong but her knees were weak.

“You tell me _all_ about your dreams _all_ the time. This is _supposed to be_ your dream journal. That’s why I got it for you but these aren’t dreams! This is real life skewed in some weird way it’s not dreams it’s…,” he swallows hard and starts flipping through it, “You turned this into your fantasty book?”

“What? No?” a strange buzzing began in her pocket.

“It says here you were _married_ to Professor Smythe? There are descriptions of everyone in town and all the Professors are also somehow the Doctor? What does any of this mean? What are these creatures? These symbols? The golden pocket watches that fell from the sky _and_ you have silver ones? Don’t show Nick? Don’t show me what! Don’t show me…what does it say here? The ‘incredible amount of sexual tension’ you have with Professor Smythe? Are you kidding?”

“It’s a dream journal,” she whispered, the vibrating in her pocket growing stronger each second she felt weaker.

“Bull shit.”

She swallowed hard and found her hand going into her pocket. It was the compass vibrating but as soon as she touched it the thing quelled, “It doesn’t matter what it is. It matters why you’re going through it.”

“It matters why you and Alex are sneaking around where you don’t belong! You snuck into the Dean’s office with Professor Smythe? What else aren’t you telling me?” there was so much hurt and accusation in his voice she did not understand.

She didn’t have anything to say.

“I asked you to stay away from the watches and the church and you lied to me! Why are you lying to me all of a sudden and getting yourself into danger for no reason? You’re going to get hurt one day and I can’t protect—”

Alexys pulled out the compass from her pocket.

Nick’s face fell into a million little pieces, “You brought one with you?”

Her heart thrummed so loud she could no longer hear Nick with it. In her mind came the warning she gave to Alex about the Time Fissures but suddenly Nick was in a fury she did not understand. His anger was something she did not have the capacity to handle and with each beat of her heart came the promise that the compass could help. It was _wrong_ yet it was the only option. She could not tell Nick everything. She had to protect him with ignorance.

“Alexys!”

She moved it a tick mark backward.

WAP.

She was back in the bathroom and she stormed out to find Nick opening her bag, “What are you doing?”

Alexys pressed the button once again with a WAP and returned in the middle of Nick’s apology, “I just don’t understand what’s happening with you right now. I feel like there is so much you aren’t telling me and I’m worried. It was wrong of me to try and look through your stuff. It’s just…I feel like you’re not really talking to me.”

“What? How?” she was genuinely shocked.

“I just feel like when we talk you’re trying to pacify me. There is so much happening and I _need_ to know you are staying out of it. I need to know you are safe. I don’t know what would happen if I lo—”

“Nick,” she rushed into his arms for a deep embrace.

It was not okay for him to go through her journal but it was also not okay for her to use the device against him. It was also not okay for her to feel the temptation to use it again. It was not okay that she desired to deny everything Nick wished and lie to him about it. Worst of all, it was not okay for them to be stuck in such a situation that put them and their relationship in danger. The only thing that was okay was the way Nick’s arms felt around her.

He pulled back and held her face in his hands, “I need you to be safe, okay? I just need you to be safe.”

She leaned up and kissed him, “I will, I will.”

Though the fight hadn’t occurred they certainly made up as if it had. By the time they fell asleep it was very late and there was no time for further discussion. They fell asleep in unity.

Yet when Alexys awoke that morning she had full knowledge that she would be adventuring alone. Nick drove her home early, as promised, and when she entered she knew not to expect Alex to say hello. She wasn’t sure if he had left already but she knew the plan was set for Alex to be going through time. The only proof she would have was her memory that she promised to write down the changes for him and the new outcomes. That would be her only connection to her best friend that day.

She brushed her teeth and prepared herself but when it came to an outfit she knew she needed to make a statement. Alexys decided this day there would be no prisoners taken. She needed to dress for such an occasion.

“I see you’ve gone through my wardrobe…Again.”

Alexys wore the signature skirt, black stockings, flats, mini backpack, red coat, and hair pushed back by a head band. She even wore the signature Sabrina make-up. The only difference was a tie dye shirt she had taken from her lovely Auntie’s closet.

“Auntie, I thank you for allowing me to wear your shirt,” Alexys smiled as she took her seat at the head of the table and placed her journal inside her mini backpack.

“Of course, dear,” she smiled happily, “Going for a new look today?”

Alexys gave her Aunt a wink as she took a bite of the bacon waiting for her, “Something like that.”

It was with a full stomach and full heart of Aunt Hilda that Alexys walked the property of Greendale Community College. There was a new aura around her that promised she would not succumb to the Church of Stillhet or their intimidation. She was ready to take on the world.

That was until she entered the building.

Everything had changed.

The typical morning hustle and bustle had darkened to quiet steps and robotic stares. All of the decorations were removed in place of the strange circular symbols that had been up on the dance. There were more people in black walking in groups while the people not in black scurried to their classes. Everyone seemed to move as if they were held against their will. No one dared to even whisper.

The halls emptied before she took her next breath.

Something overwhelmed her as it had when she saw Nick going through her journal. She pulled the compass from her pocket and turned the dial a few tick marks in the past. There was a moment of hesitation but it quickly faded.

_December 1 st _

Alexys stood in the hall beside Alex and Nick and Luke in front of the bulletin board but everything was spoken in less than a breath’s tone. The groups of black clad students roamed and instead of flyers for the Bonfire there were flyers for the service the Church of Stillhet was to hold. The astronomy flyer still looked at her and she still took it into her pocket.

_Present_

She was horrified.

How had the past changed so drastically? How had the present? She had only missed school for one day but it was as if she were gone for decades. This was not the Greendale she knew and loved. This was something far more sinister.

Alexys took the steps to her English class but when she pulled on the door it was locked.

She looked through the window and saw students, mostly in black but some in color, sitting with hands folded and eyes on the back of Professor Wardwell who drew circles on the board. New memories began to fade into her. If a student was late they were subject to a renewal of class schedule. The new schedule called for them to immediately be redirected to Father Blackwood’s Religions class.

A door somewhere opened and with it came the wind of something nefarious. The anxiety returned that made her feel like she was going to be eaten alive. Her immediate thought went to Nick.

“Ms. Spellman, thank you for retrieving the notebook I asked you for. Come on now.”

She looked up to find Professor Smith and the anxiety was gone.

She was confused but the urgency in his expression ended any questioning. He pulled on his sunglasses and turned quickly. Alexys followed him happily down the hall until he ducked into a classroom and shut the door behind her.

It was a music room with seats filled of mismatched students.

The Professor locked the door and shut the blinds, “Please, take a seat.”

Alexys slowly walked to the chair closest to the exit.

“Now, I must ask students. Is anyone here a practicing member of Stillhet?”

New memories were written across Alexys’ brain. It was a required question—had been since Greendale began—asked at the start of each class. If the answer was “yes” a specific lesson plan was to be administered. If the answer was “no” there was to be a discussion about why not and mention of extra credit points to attend a service. The motley crew of students did not answer the Professor’s question for fear of the outcome. Alexys felt her anxiety rise as someone passed the door.

“I take that as a no,” the Professor took a seat, “Good. Feel open to talk freely. I fear we have no safety to do so anymore.”

“What is going on?”

“How is this happening?

“I don’t remember it being like this?”

“Why are they so weird?”

Alexys pulled out her journal and began scribbling all the new information that came with each sentence. When they were all done she raised her hand. The Professor called on her, “Has anyone had any strange dreams?”

It was uncertain whether there was information to be gathered from the dreams but Alexys wrote every single one down until the end of the period. She made sure to write down the Professor’s which included lots of imagery of women and death. Before leaving the class she stopped by his desk, “Thank you for helping me out there.”

“Of course. I tell everyone, ‘if you run into trouble say Professor Smith sent me out for something.’ So far it’s done a world of good,” he picked up his guitar from beside his desk to begin playing, “How is your, Aunt Zelda?”

“Wouldn’t you know?” Alexys furrowed her brows.

He let out a sigh as he shook his head, “She ended things with me the night of the Finals Dance. Said she needed to dedicate her life to spiritual pursuits. Never seemed like a spiritual woman to me before.”

“Oh no,” Alexys felt that strings of fear being pulled in her.

“My thoughts exactly. But, better get on to your next class. If you’re with me too long they’ll get suspicious,” there was a frown at the corner of his lips.

“Thank you, again,” she ducked out into the hallway.

Alexys watched as the students moved in a haze. She knew she had to do something and she had to do it with haste. Quickly she stepped out onto the quad with her phone in hand. Over her shoulders she kept a warm cardigan that helped her as she took her steps to the other building where her class was. She had programed the weather guy’s number as soon as she found it but this was the first time she decided to call.

“You’ve got McCrimmon.”

She tripped, “Uh, uh, hello. My name is Alexys. I’m from Greendale. I’m calling because we’ve had another incident of NASA watches falling from the sky and now everything is weird.”

“Where are you currently?”

“At Greendale Community College,” she looked around to make sure no one was listening.

“I see. I am working with a group of highly trained professionals to remove the contaminated objects from the town of Greendale. For issues regarding the Community College, I have designated a Professor Smythe as head of the cleanup. Any further inquiries you’ll have to take up with him.”

“BU—”

“Have a good rest of your day.”

Click.

Alexys mumbled to herself, “Shit, shit, shit.”

The quad began to empty out at a dizzying pace and so she ran to the building she knew held the astronomy class. Eyes fell upon her from the black-wearing groups but she held her head eye despite the pit in her stomach. She knew the classroom Professor Smythe was in thanks to the conversation at the Blue Moon Tavern but when she got to the class the door was locked and the inside was empty.

Panic seized her.

She began to pull on the knob harder and harder and harder with the hope that it would open or break and just when she was about to kick the thing she tumbled forward. Strong arms grabbed her and pinned her against the door. She pushed forward to fight but a soft laugh caused her to calm.

“You’re stronger than you look, Ms. Smellpan.”

So much relief flooded through her system that she dove forward and wrapped her arms around him. For a brief moment he was the Doctor that could think of something to save them. For a brief moment he was the Doctor that would know exactly what was happening and how to stop it. For a brief moment she was safe. She was with the man she married.

Warm lips met hers and she succumbed momentarily to the experience. With her eyes closed she imagined she was in the Tardis after a thrilling escape. The Doctor had the greatest passions after a victory in the face of certain death.

The sound of shuffling feet in the hall pulled her from the fantasy and she looked up at Professor Smythe. She couldn’t help but to whisper, “I’m so scared.”

“I’ve got you,” his hand rested against her cheek and pulled her in for another kiss.

She pulled back though as she shook her head, “I-I can’t…I came here to ask you something very important.”

“What is it?” his breath was fresh across her face and his closeness filled her with a warmth her fear had taken. 

“I-I…have you had any weird dreams?”

“All of you,” his arms wrapped around her middle and pulled her for another kiss that she once again sunk into but just for the moment.

She pulled back and shook her head, “I can’t. I-I’m with Nick.”

“Will this really never be?” there were tears in his eyes.

“Not while I’m with Nick.”

He pulled back then but there was a smile on his face.

“Why are you smiling?”

He caressed her cheek, “I’m a patient man and we’ve got all the time in the world.”

“No…we don’t!” she pulled away from him, “Do you see what’s going on? This isn’t normal. What’s happening here? Why is the Church doing this?”

“I don’t know,” with that he leaned around her to shut the blinds and lock the door. He stepped back into the room and walked to his desk, “I’ve been put in charge here but there is no being in charge. Everything has gotten away from us and there’s no fighting it.”

“But we have to fight it…,” she wiped at her eyes, “We have to do something.”

“The Church of Stillhet has been here since the school was first established in 1941.”

“What?”

“It’s not going anywhere.”

All at once the memories that Alex changed, that Father Blackwood changed, that she herself had changed all fit into place inside of her brain. A sharp piercing hurt spat through her head that made the world around her go blurry. The man jumped to his feet to try to help her but she pushed him away and leaned against the desk.

She had to put an end to it.

Alexys pulled out her compass.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do anything with that. Put that down. Bad things have been happening to students that toy around with that!”

Through squinted eyes she shouted, “I have to do something!”

“Alexys! No!”

She put it to the evening of the Blue Moon Tavern.

_December 1 st_

“I have been expecting you, Ms. Spellman.”

Alexys found herself in the seat across from the man as he drew lazy circles on the table. His eyes were on her as if his eyes had always been on her and would always be on her.

“Or should I say… _Watcher_?”

An icy chill went down her spine, “How do you know about that?”

“I have my sources,” he paused his circle drawing to fold his hands, “Just as you have yours, I presume.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she spoke with defiance.

“There is no need to be coy, Ms. Hernandez.”

All defiance was gone. He knew her true name beyond the fabrication of Greendale. She felt herself shaking violently, “What are you?”

“Another chess piece in this game, I am afraid. I would not say we are pawns though. I liken myself to the knight. You, I believe, would be that of a bishop,” he looked her curiously.

“I like rooks more,” she spat out.

“Oh, no. Your cousin is more of a rook. At the moment he is charging forward on a clear path for answers that I doubt he will get. While you…what are you doing exactly?”

“I…” she didn’t know, “I’m doing _something_.”

“Right, the bishop is _always_ doing s _omething_ ,” he smirked.

He made a half circle motion in the air and as he did a glass of water was placed beside Alexys. She quickly drank it as if she had never had water before in her life.

“I believe we both know who the king of this game is,” he kept his gaze on her like a lion on a gazelle.

“Who?”

“The Doctor.”

Alexys swore she almost broke the glass in her hand, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Father Blackwood.”

“Oh, no need for games,” he leaned forward slightly, “My source tells me there is more than one we are up against on this Chess board.

“Is your source the Queen?”

“Oh, there are many Queens here,” he made another motion.

Two figures came, “Hello, dear.”

Tears spilled from her eyes as she watched her Aunties take their seat in the booth with them. Hilda took the place beside Father Blackwood and Zelda beside Alexys. She finished the water.

“No need for so such sorrow, my child,” Father Blackwood leaned forward to grasp Alexys’ hand tenderly between his.

She felt a charge from his skin to her skin that made her recoil, “What are you?”

“Simply a conduit.”

When he spoke the noise of the bar quieted to a whisper.

“A conduit for what?” she could not look away from him.

“The inevitable.”

He took her hand again as she asked, “What is inevitable.”

“Who is the Doctor masquerading as here in Greendale?”

Alexys was silent.

“There is no need to fight us now, Alexys. I do not wish to see you _or_ your cousin harmed. When this plan was put into motion the existence of you both was entirely unknown. The prophecy given to us by the source promised the Doctor would arrive with the Watchers but we had no idea _you both_ were the Watchers. You both fit…so seamlessly into the narrative here we had not a single suspicion. And every time we did we had you followed only to find you in the thralls of passion,” he seemed to squirm at the thought. 

Alexys blushed and looked between her Aunts with a shake of her head and a false chuckle, “I don’t…know what he…”

“Oh save it. You are as subtle as a gun shot,” Zelda spat, “Enough of this. Give us the journal. We know the information is stored there.”

“Auntie! Are you kidding!” Alexys snapped.

“Please, child, we don’t want this to continue any longer,” Hilda looked to her sympathetically though it was not the same sympathy her Aunt Hilda always had.

“You are out matched and outnumbered, I’m afraid,” Father Blackwood gave a false frown, “Everything has gone according to plan.”

“And what is the plan, exactly?”

“To lure the Doctor here, to extract his essence, to succeed with the inevitable,” he looked to her as if it were completely obvious.

“Who is the Doctor masquerading as here in Greendale?” Hilda asked in a way that was so un-Hilda Alexys felt anger burn inside of her

“Why have you mind controlled my Aunties? Why have you mind controlled the rest of the people here?” Alexys snapped.

“Well, it is simply to aid in our process of elimination. If they are with us they are not with the Doctor and they will help us find him. They will help us with the inevitable.”

“What is the inevitable?”

“The arrival of the Beast.”

Alexys felt as if the world had collapsed on her.

“The Master of Monsters. The Lord of Lambs. The Caller of Calamity,” he smiled warmly, “I am to allow the prophecy of the Beast to reach the people of Greendale. I am to allow the prophecy of the Beast to reach you.”

She yanked her hand back and screamed at the feeling of his long nails cutting into her flesh. Alexys began to rise but a strong arm kept her in place. She looked up and recoiled in horror.

“I believe your Aunt Hilda and I have raised you to have an open mind.”

“Aunt Zelda! Aunt Hilda! He’s tricking you! He’s tricking everyon—”

For the first time Alexys realized that everyone in the bar was wearing black. Her heart hammered inside of her chest louder than the music that still played. All eyes were on her.

“Oh sweet Alexys. You really do have a nasty habit of walking into danger, don’t you?” Hilda frowned.

“Enough,” Zelda pushed Alexys forward and unzipped her bag to snatch her journal. Alexys jumped up to grab it from her but it was too late. She ripped out then slammed down five pieces of paper.

Alexys gasped, “How could you!”

The journal was tossed back at her suddenly useless. The pages held the descriptions she had written about the Doctors, their aliases, and the Chameleon Arch. Father Blackwood read them briefly then lifted his hand and made a circle in the sky. Todd came quickly and Father Blackwood handed him the pages with the names. He then turned his eyes onto Alexys, “Where is the essence of the Doctor?”

“I-I do—”

He pushed the page forward with the details of the silver fob watches.

“Curse my incredible artistic ability and note taking!” Alexys cried to the heavens, using the distraction to pull out her compass.

At this Father Blackwood chuckled, “I really do like you, Alexys. You and your cousin brought much enjoyment to us when under our radar however at the dance we saw this journal, we saw your suspicion of the symbols, and we saw you draw them. Only someone familiar with the Doctor would be familiar with the language of the Doctor.”

“It was Gallifreyan,” Alexys whispered.

“See. There is no use denying your knowledge. There is no use denying us. We have very, _very_ powerful allies in our quest to destroy the Doctor.”

“Why? Why do you want to destroy him? Why are you doing all of this?”

“For the Beast. The Beast will follow the fissures, come through the cracks, swallow the void, and become the Universe,” Father Blackwood spoke the words with actuality.

“Any plans to stop the Beast are futile,” Hilda shrugged.

“Give us the essence of the Doctor and we will make sure no harm comes to Nicholas Scratch,” Zelda spoke with the calm she always did as she smoked her cigarette.

“You would hurt Nick, Auntie?”

“I would do anything for the Beast. NOW GIVE US THE ESSEN—”

_Present_

Professor Smythe was gone when she returned but in his place was the growing, smirking crack of a tear in the universe growing across the wall.

Tears spilled over her eyes as she called Nick’s phone.

He answered on the first ring, “Alexys? What’s wrong?”

“Nick, where are you?”

“I’m home…where are you?”

“I’m at the school…”

He gasped, “What are you doing there? They’re fixing the gas leak! I’m coming to get you right now!”

Light shot through the air and Alexys ran out of the school at full speed as she spoke into the phone, “I’m leaving right now! I have to stop at my house but stay where you are, Nick! Please don’t leave! I’ll be right over!”

“I’m on my way!”

“NO,” she used her strong voice, “I’m coming to YOU. Don’t move!”

She hung up then and ran her way to Nick’s until halfway there she got another call.

“Alexys! Where are you?” Alex shouted in horror.

“I’m going home. Where are you?”

“Good! Come home. NOW.”

“Alex, leave! Zelda’s one of th—”

He hung up before she could finish. Alexys hesitated a moment then ran her way back to the Spellman Mortuary. She had to protect her cousin. She had to protect the Doctor.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen:

The morning of the twelfth came along with understanding that Alex would have a very, very long day. Alex was already aware of what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go. He had slept with the golden compass in his pocket the entire evening to prevent himself from spiraling into the late not regrets of Greendale citizens. In the morning, after he had freshened up and dressed, he looked to the compass as if it had become part of him. Somehow in his dreams he had formed an attachment to the device that could bring about the ruin of the entire universe.

That was alright.

Alex had briefly jotted down the list of dates and times he wanted to return to on his desk. He ripped it free from his notebook to give it a glance over one more time. When he was satisfied he folded it into his pocket where he had slept with the compass. The next thing he needed was the pocketknife Luke had given him. When it was given to him Alex realized it was such a precious gift he did not want to lose it. He typically kept it in his bedside table but he felt an urge to place it in his pocket with him as a source of comfort and a reminder that Luke was always with him. With everything packed on him he picked up the compass.

He opened the device and looked down at the face lined with infinity of tick marks. With Alexys he had uncovered what the tick marks meant and how to work the device. The size of tick marks began with years then traveled down to months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. When it first opened it was a perfect circle of ticks with a small dial at the center and a large red triangle that could be used to touch upon the lines in counter clockwise form. Alex found that when the red triangle reached all the way back to where it had begun the face began to spiral and replace the current face with different set as it went further back in time.

The compass always returned to where the timeline was in chronological order as if it reset. That meant if Alex went to December 4th as soon as he landed it would be waiting on December 12th for him to return to his original timeline. Alex had no fear of getting stuck in the past.

He took in a deep breath, scrolled the dial to the left a few tick marks, then pressed the center dial.

_December 1 st _

The crowd at Cerberus Books became louder than expected.

He stood at the small hallway that separated the bathrooms from vampires, werewolves, and zombie. Alex had found a moment during the date when he had excused himself to use the bathroom. The sound of the restaurant was louder than he recalled with Luke but to be fair they were tucked away from the sounds of the evening. Alex stepped away from the bathrooms with the express decision of immersing himself into the din of the diner. He stood and let his eyes fall around the many faces.

At the counter was Dr. Cerberus with a few other employees handling takeout and putting in orders. Other employees brought food from the kitchen that was near Alex standing by the bathroom. He wondered if Rose had even gotten there ye—

Crash.

A quiet string of British curse words came from around the corner. Alex looked around and saw Rose picking up piles of food that had fallen from her tray. Without thinking Alex immediately rushed to her side and began picking up what he could.

“I don’t know what happened. I swear I had it and then it just toppled over,” she tried to explain but her voice was so rushed it came out in a blur of words.

“It’s fine. I can’t tell you how many things I’ve dropped or broken things, myself. You’re fine,” Alex tried to pacify her but found himself getting more and more nervous the closer he crouched by her. He cursed himself for not thinking of something to say to her before going back in time.

“No, Dr. Cee told me next time I break something it’s comin’ out of my pay and I can’t afford that,” she looked near tears.

“Well, I’ll cover it. I’ll just let him know that it was my fault. I was looking for the bathroom and crashed right into you and now here we are,” it was a genuine offer but the heat in his face when they made eye contact made him feel guilty.

“You don’t have to do that,” was she blushing too?

“It’s the least I can do…my name is Alex, by the way,” he cleaned his hand on his pants as he stood and offered it to her for a shake.

She took it with a gentle squeeze, “I’m called Briar. Are you the one in the private booth with the gentleman?”

“Yeah, it was a surprise,” Alex felt his face burn hotter the longer she held his hand.

“Well, you’re both very lucky,” she released him, “I won’t keep you. Go enjoy yourself!”

“I am,” he meant it with sincerity but it came out smoother than he intended.

She noticeably blushed and put on a bashful smile, “Likewise.”

“Briar! Where is table D’s food?”

“Oh, shite!” she turned back into the kitchen.

Alex chuckled then pulled out his compass once again.

_December 2 nd _

Alex found himself walking away from Alexys and the loud guitar of the Twelfth Doctor. He immediately began to run toward the corner he had lost Professor Schmidt instead of following him specifically. His plan was to cut off the man or at least get into position to follow him much closer than before.

He got to the corner and just as he did the raggedy man rounded and bumped into him.

“Oh! Goodness, oh no!” he shouted, helping Alex to stabilize and not completely lose it on the ground, “Alexander! What on Earth?”

“Professor, I was just looking for y—”

“Walk and talk, Alexander, walk and talk. I am very, _very_ late for a very important…gathering,” he shouted in a brisk walk.

Alex quickly followed, nearly having to run to keep up the long strides beside the man, “I wanted to ask about the final!”

“Oh, right. That bloody thing,” he huffed.

“Yes, what about it?” he questioned.

“It seems I am unable to answer that question. I will no longer be your substitute. Professor W is back and will take up her rightful place,” he suddenly turned into the Cafeteria.

“And where will you go!” Alex nearly skidded as he switched gears to follow the man.

“I will—”

“You’re _late_.”

Alex froze.

“Please, dear, I was assisting a student,” he leaned down to kiss the woman’s cheek.

She simply tilted her head upward toward the tall man without taking her eyes off of Alex, “Can you vouch for him?”

“I can!” it took all of Alex’s strength to get the words out.

“Alexander. This is my fri—”

A stern look went his way.

“Girlfriend! Companion! Partner, as it were. Dr. Clarissa Oswin,” he motioned toward the shorter woman at his side.

She put down the motorcycle helmet on the table next to another one as she extended her hand, “You may call me Dr. Clara.”

“Dr. Clara!” he extended his hand and shook the woman’s.

“Yes, and you are Alexander?” she confirmed.

He nodded, his face beet red, “Alex. You can call me Alex.”

She regarded him with curiosity as she pulled her hand back and looked up to the Eleventh Doctor, “These Americans are quite odd, aren’t they?”

“Oh, Alexander is a good one though,” he patted his head, “Just looked at his hair all sticking up in places it shouldn’t. Adorable!”

Alex jumped to push down his cowlicks, “I—uh, Professor? You were saying you aren’t going to be teaching us anymore. Where are you going?” 

“My services have been requested by the Air Conditioning Repair Annex,” he smiled warmly.

“Right now your services are requested by yours truly,” she took one of the helmets and gave it to him in a rough manner that made him go ‘oof.’ She smiled and gave a quick salute, “It was a pleasure meeting you, Alex.”

“Yes, it was a pleasure!” they were already walking away but as they turned Alex thought he noticed something odd.

A blue crescent moon necklace.

He pulled out the compass once more and moved the dial to what was supposed to be a few hours later to the Bonfire but suddenly a strong body bumped into him and he pushed too far forward.

_December 5 th_

__

In Alex’s new memory it was Jeff Winger that bumped into him which sparked his time hanging out with him, Britta and Annie.

Suddenly though he was sitting beside Alexys who looked at him in confusion. Her hand reached up to her head as she looked at Alex, “Is it just me or is everything…changing?”

He nodded his head, “It’s changing.”

“Oh, Alex!”

He looked to see Rose, or…Briar, behind the counter with their drinks, “Hey, Briar. Today doesn’t seem so bad.”

She blushed, “No, I think I’ve got a better handle on the dishes when it’s not so busy.”

Alex chuckled and reached for his drink only to find that her hand was still around the glass. She did not pull away but Alex did quickly with an apology, “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about, love,” she gave a little wink and walked away.

Alexys looked to Alex and mouthed the words, “WHAT. THE. FUDGE.”

He shrugged, “I don’t know!”

The conversation was much more pleasant than the first time around. She sat with them at the counter and they talked about Father Blackwood and all the people turning up in black clothes. She told them how they tried to put flyers up in the store but Dr. Cerberus denied it. Since he did odd things had been happening like the alarms going off in the middle of the night and Dr. Cee having to go to check on the place but nothing would be stolen or missing. She thought it was a cult that moved into the small town where it was easy pickings.

Alex and Alexys did not disagree.

Alexys stood to use the bathroom and when she did Rose came to him, “It seems you’re always in company, aren’t you?”

“Oh, she’s just my cousin,” he blushed at her.

“And Luke?”

“Oh L-Luke?” he stammered, unsure if Rose was checking his relationship status or if she was just trying to be nice.

“Yeah, Luke,” she smirked, “You know. I’ve been here for a year and have yet to see much of this town. Maybe you two could meet me after work tomorrow and show me what you both do for fun?”

Based on what he and Luke had been doing for fun the answer was sex. His face went completely red but he nodded, “Okay.”

She smiled, “See you then.”

Alex immediately pulled out the compass and fast forwarded it to the night in question.

_December 6 th_

Alex found himself in what seemed to be a pit stop.

He stood in the Greendale halls when he really wished to be with Rose Tyler. He looked to his compass with confusion. Had it shorted out before making it the full way through? Were there limits to his power? Was he going to be stuck in that moment and forced to relive all the events that got him there?

Tap, tap.

The sound captured Alex’s attention.

With cautious steps he walked toward the study room and found Troy and Abed. They were recording themselves pretending to be dinosaurs as they tried to work the compass in hand. It was mostly them with their arms in their sleeves trying to grasp it. When they couldn’t do it with their hands they used their mouth. Alex couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Oh, you. You’re the Bake Sale Lady’s nephew,” Troy spoke.

“The one Shirley hates?” Abed questioned.

Troy’s eyes grew wide the way they did when someone said something they were not supposed to in front of the person they were not supposed to, “Well…I wouldn’t say _that_.”

“It’s fine,” Alex chuckled as he walked inside, “What are you two doing?”

“We’re trying to figure out how these work,” Abed knocked the compass on the table a few times, “Pierce said he could go back in time but I think mine’s broken.”

“Weren’t you supposed to give it to the weather guy?”

“We don’t trust him,” Abed and Troy spoke in unison.

“Why not?”

“The hair,” they spoke in unison again.

“I didn’t get a good look at him,” Alex had his brows furrowed.

“Here, I took a video of that night,” Abed pulled his camera forward and scrolled through the footage.

“Oooh! Hello!” came the kind voice of Shirley with specially wrapped backing goods, “Would you all like some cookies?”

They looked to her with a nod.

She slid over some specially wrapped cookies but Alex looked to her with a frown, “These taste like my Aunt Hilda’s.”

“Oh…” her voice got deeper, “That pagan is your Aunt?”

“SHIRLEY! DID YOU TAKE MY COOKIES!”

“I was never here!” she ran off down the hall and quickly behind her was Aunt Hilda.

Abed, Troy, and Alex looked to each with a shrug.

Abed pressed play

_“My name is James Robert McCrimmon.”_

Alex stepped behind them to watch the video unfold.

_“Your Mayor invited me here this afternoon after the morning’s events. I believe I can offer some explanation to the issue at hand.”_

Alex blinked.

Then blinked again.

And again.

And again.

He wondered how he had not guessed before.

The identity of James Robert McCrimmon had suddenly been revealed.

He was the 10th Doctor.

_December 6 th _

Alex was suddenly sitting in a booth across from Luke who was giving him the _eyes_. The memories of everything he had just uncovered hit him like a ton of bricks. But the last patron of Cerberus Books left and with it Rose locked the door.

There had been flirting, lots and lots of flirting from all directions in all ways and all paths between the three of them that Alex still could not believe. There was touching and in between Rose waiting tables she would sit on either side of the booth and touch their arm or their leg. At first Alex was worried Luke would be jealous but he seemed to be the opposite. For a moment Alex wondered if _he_ should be jealous but then Rose Tyler began walking back to their booth and he could not stop himself from turning red.

“What say you both follow me to the private booth?”

“Yes,” both Alex and Luke nearly stumbled out of the booth in unison.

A fresh, womanly smirk graced her lips as she nodded, “I’ll meet you both there with some wine then?”

“Yes,” they once again spoke at the same time and grabbed each other’s hand as they nearly skipped to the booth that had been their date days before.

Alex ran through what had occurred in his mind and thanked the man at his side for being so complimenting-ly charming. The whole time Luke had been flirting with Rose in a way that flattered her and lifted Alex up. There was never a selfish slip of his tongue that painted him in any different way. In fact, it almost seemed as though Luke would be fine if Rose and Alex snuck off alone until Rose began touching his arm too and then he was very eager to join. Both men scooted into the booth and waited.

Their bodies were already burning with excitement and desire for the blonde but as they looked to one another they couldn’t keep their hands off each other under the table. Alex couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Is this really happening?”

“If it’s okay with you?” Luke began to kiss Alex’s neck.

He blushed brightly, “Is it okay with you?”

“I want you to be happy, Alex, and if I can be happy with you? Well, that’s only a plus.”

Alex shivered at his words, “I love you so much, Luke.”

The man pulled back with a smile and looked into Alex’s eyes, “I love you too.”

They kissed, full, deep, passionate, real.

“Are you two havin’ all the fun now?”

They pulled back and gasped.

In front of them stood Rose Tyler with only two bottles of wine positioned—one horizontal in front of her chest and one vertical over her pelvis—to cover her nakedness. Luke quickly stood and pushed the round table forward away from where they sat so that she had space between them, “Never without you, Briar.”

“Good boy,” she smirked as she sauntered over to the empty spot between them and handed the wine to Luke, “Open this.”

He happily got to work.

Rose trailed her finger beneath Alex’s chin before taking his glasses and putting them somewhere safe, “See something you like?”

Alex nodded and in a hard to control voice spoke positively, “Yeah.”

She leaned forward and pressed a seductive kiss to his lips, “Good.”

It was the best night of Alex’s life.

Truly.

Purely.

Completely.

Hands down the best threesome and it did not end at Cerberus Books.

After a few swimming hours they found it too chilly to continue there and so Rose invited them back to her flat only a block away. They dressed as if in a sprint, cleaned as if their lives depended on it, then rushed to her home. It was a one bedroom that was decorated in such an adorably Rose way that Alex walked in and paused to take it all in. He couldn’t believe how cu—

He was not able to continue his thoughts.

Rose grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him with all the fire of a supernova. Luke was behind him, kissing at his neck and his shoulder as they both helped to disrobe him. Alex once again decided that _this_ was his reality and no one could take it away from him.

Hours later they all slept comfortably together in her queen sized bed.

Alex thanked the skies that no one had messed with time during the _hours_ he enjoyed the company of Rose Tyler and Luke Chalfant. After sometime he stood from the bed and searched for his pants that he left behind with the start of the second round of events. In the make shift living room he found them and grabbed the pocket watch but as he did he caught sight of an old journal on the coffee table.

He immediately did not want to look through it but there was something going off inside of him that made Alex feel like it was a necessity. With a delicate touch he opened the cover and saw the words:

Dream Journal

He began to sift through the pages.

He froze.

There was a rough sketch of two individuals.

Upon further investigation he realized it was supposed to be him and Alexys. Part of his heart softened at the crude attempt but the other part hardened with worry. The dream was outlined in rough bullet points as if she had just experienced the dream and then wrote it down. The setting was that of a Sunday Service. Instead of the choir that usually welcomed them it was two strange individuals. They were not singing and instead had sacks over their heads while they were restrained. A man walked to them dressed in black and pulled the girl from where she was bound.

The man brought her to the center of the pulpit and pushed her onto her knees in front of the congregation and declared she would be a worthy first sacrifice for the great and mysterious Beast. Everyone cheered at the grand news that the Beast would be satiated. They all raised their hands in welcome and horror a large curtain was pulled back to reveal a massive crack.

The dream doubled back to them being chased by two horrifying creatures. 

A drawing was attached.

Alex gasped.

He had to warn Alexys.

_Present_

“Alexys! Alexys!”

It was evening when he returned to the present time but that didn’t change anything.

He ran through the house in search of her but she was nowhere to be found. He called her phone over and over again until he got an answer, “Alexys! Where are you?”

“I’m going home. What’s wrong?”

“Come back here. NOW.”

The lights to the Spellman Mortuary shut off and Alex was left alone in the dark.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty:

The Spellman Mortuary was dark.

Empty.

Alexys stepped through the front doors she had exited that very morning and yet everything was different. The depth of night had fallen and with it a nothingness that permeated around her. Her insides were a quaking mess of anxiety she suddenly had a name for. Her eyes scanned the dark recesses of the home she had committed to memory. The greatest concern was for Zelda hiding in the corners. Her greatest fear was that she was too late to save Alex or the Doctor.

Slow, deliberate steps were taken up the stairs to prevent sound. The house was old though—built, then burned, then rebuilt—almost seventy years so and it had a voice. The creeks seemed to be warning Alexys with each groan that she was committing the greatest sin of all leading ladies. She was going _up_ the stairs. She was meant to be going _down_ them.

But she needed the fob watches that were safely hidden in the hole under her bed. She needed her cousin Alex so they could find the Doctor. While the mystery of the Tenth Doctor was still unsolved she knew the Church of Stillhet could not harm the other incarnations of him. She also committed to detail something very important about their plan. They needed the _essence_ of the Doctor. Not the Doctor himself.

She would do anything to make sure they did not get it.

Creeeeeeeeak.

Alex jumped in the hallway at the sound but when he turned around he saw Alexys and relief flooded through him at the fact that she was unharmed. He stepped toward her, “We need to get out of here.”

“Yeah, Zelda and Hilda have been compromised,” she quickly shared the new information she had been given, “They want the silver watches.”

He pulled them from his pocket still wrapped in the small velvet bags and she quickly crossed the space between them to the blue one, “We have to split them like the Doctor originally wanted. We can’t risk one of us getting captured and them getting all four.”

“Okay,” Alex grabbed Alexys’ arm and lead her to the stairs, “Let’s get out of here before we run into—”

He stopped talking.

“Sontarans?” the word was a ghost on her lips.

His eyes were still on the space behind her and she moved to look but his hand lashed out to grab her wrist, “Don’t turn around.”

Fear.

Fear at its truest form beyond the glitz and glamor of horror or terror.

Alexys did not move a muscle but every muscle was alive and active and telling her to run and yet fear made her immobile. Tears sprung to her eyes as if her body thought producing liquid would help lubricate her frozen joints. It did nothing but make her vision blur. The hair on her arms stood as her tendons twitched and her back, shoulders, neck stiffened with the feeling of being watched by something centimeters away.

She moved to turn again but Alex’s grip grew tighter, “Don’t. Just keep looking at me.”

Alexys shook with a fear she had not known since she was a child and first learned Death meant never coming back. Her eyes focused on the figure of Alex with the stairs behind him, the shadow of balcony promising only a single escape, the light of a half-moon through the windows of the foyer with a simple sentence “stay or go.” There was no answer. There was only darkness reflected back to her in Alex’s eyes amplified by the reflection of his glasses.

She thought she saw a spark.

“Don’t,” Alex pleaded.

But she was without control.

Something was inside of her. Something had crept into her body, crept into her mind, crept into her bones to take her against Alex’s wishes. His hand tightened around her but it was of no use. Alexys fought, fought as hard as she could against what it was in her brain telling her to turn around.

_“Look at me…”_

She was crying. Alexys bit her lip as Alex continued to beg her not to move and she choked out, “I can’t sto—”

Her voice was cut off by a rough sob from deep in her chest. Violently her body trembled to fight off the tendrils of control imbedded into her mind. But with each inch she lost was another memory flashing before her mind. Back to the dance with the circles her body made at the Dean’s instruction and back to Father Blackwood making the same circles on the table with his long fingernail and back to ST when they walked those circles around the track. She was corrupted from the beginning. They all were. Just sleeper cells to the suggestion implanted deep inside of them until it was time to be enacted.

They were slaves to the voice inside of them that whispered, _“Look at me_.”

Alexys’ head turned but her eyes remained on Alex with strain that made her tears thick enough to cloud her vision.

There was no air in her lungs.

_“Look at me_.”

She did.

The deep, guttural shriek that came from his cousin’s mouth was enough to break the spell of the Silent. Electricity pulled from all directions into the beings mangled claw as it pointed in their direction and Alex screamed. He turned to run down the stairs but a surge of shock paralyzed him and when he looked he cried out in horror. The full beam landed straight into his cousin’s chest as she stared with wide eyes of terror into the face of her greatest fear.

For Alexys there was only darkness in the face of lifeless eyes in the cavern of horror as a swelling form took aim with a mangled claw toward the center of her. Every nerve in her body surged in screaming agony. And then there was only silence.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One:

“Get down!”

The sound of gun shots exploded through the air.

Alex dropped down and into his arms fell the body of Alexys. More gun shots surrounded them as he looked to his friend and saw she was not breathing. His vision tunneled to only Alexys. In an instant he was in crisis mode. He placed her on the ground and tilted her head back slightly to lift her chin and open her airway, “Wake up! Wake up!”

“Move!”

A strong arm pushed him to the side.

He fell backward but was caught by someone else.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as capable hands began pumping at the center of her chest. A mop of blonde curly hair moved hurriedly to cover Alexys’ mouth before once again repeating the steps. Another round at the mouth and then suddenly Alexys was gasping.

Alex cried out and rushed to her.

She looked around in confusion, “What happened?! What happened?!”

“You…I…I don’t…I…don’t remember but you were…you almost died?”

Alexys looked down at the hole in her shirt and the fresh burn in the shape of a circle dead center of her breast bone then looked to him with all seriousness, “The Sontarans?”

“Yes!” he laughed more out of realization and nerves than humor, “The Sontarans.”

“Alexys!” it was Nick’s voice and suddenly Nick’s arms that wrapped around her. She winced with pain in her chest but when he pulled away she grabbed him to keep holding her tight. He cried, “I can’t believe I almost lost you.”

“Alex, where have you been?”

It was then that Alex realized Luke had been the one that had caught him when he fell backward. He shook his head, “I-I don’t know, Luke. I was so scared!”

“I’m here now. I’m here now,” he pacified.

“Hate to break up this lovely moment but we’ve got to run!”

Alex and Alexys looked up to the sultry voice of one of the most beautiful women in the entire universe. They both gasped, “River Song!”

“The very same,” she winked but with the black eye patch on it only looked like a blink.

“Uhh, guys! Gotta go!” they looked to one of the other most beautiful women in the entire universe. 

They both gasped, “Clara Oswald!”

“Pleasure!” she gave a little curtsey.

River began her run down the other end of the hallway to the back of the house as she shouted, “No time for reunions! We’ve got to go!”

Nick helped Alexys up but quickly slid her over to Alex. There were tears blurring his vision as he held his friend. It took all of his strength to not break down at the prospect of nearly losing her. So many feelings emerged but he shoved them down with the desire to get out of the house alive.

“Get down!”

Alex and Alexys lowered in time to watch a baseball bat fly through the air.

Alexys shut her eyes but Alex watched the bat bounce off of a Silent’s head and it crumble to the ground. Alex looked behind them and saw Luke slamming his baseball bat down over and over again. The sight of buzzing electricity ahead of them cut them off from Nick, River, and Clara but before they could grow concerned another baseball bat flew through the air and landed against the Silent’s head. In a rage Nick stomped over and over onto the head of the Silent and Alex looked to Alexys to see if she was watching but her eyes were sealed shut.

The sound of more gun shots up ahead urged them to go forward and with the way cleared they followed River and Clara out of the house and into Nick’s Buick Skylark. River jumped into the driver’s seat while Alex took shot gun and everyone else piled into the back. Nick ran his hands over Alexys and her face and where she had been zapped by the Silent. He shook his head, “I can’t believe that _thing_ almost took you away from me.”

“Actually, by my calculations, it saved her life,” River spoke over her shoulder.

Alexys looked down at the circular burn that pulsed with something like liquid pain, “It doesn’t really feel like that.”

“Well, obviously that wasn’t its intention. It meant to kill you however you beat the thing to it!” she laughed.

“What does that mean?” Alex had been looking backward while Luke tenderly held his hand then returned his gaze to River.

“It means she had such a fright her heart gave out and the electrical current passing through her body was enough to stabilizer her until River began CPR,” Clara explained as she pushed Alexys back, “I need to get a look at this.”

“What are you two doing here? Were you here the whole time? Why are you here now? Are you even a doctor?” Alex tried his best not to shout his answers but they came out as shouts anyway.

“Here, here, here. Rethink your questions and understand that us being _here_ has saved your friend’s life,” River sighed, “But I will tell you this. I have been here the whole time helping to gather clues and keep everyone safe.”

“Keep us all safe? So that means you know what’s happening?” Alexys jumped forward in her seat but Clara held her back.

“Alex, in the glove compartment I’ve got a first aid kit. Can you pass that back here?” Nick asked with urgency that did not compromise his manners.

“I might have been a bit presumptuous with my introduction,” Clara opened the first aid kit to answer at least one of the many questions that had been thrown out, “But I do have medical experience. I volunteered for ambulance service when I was at University. Dealt with drunkards mostly but handled the occasional bump and bruise.”

“With all due respect,” Nick looked over the woman, “This is more than a bump and bruise.”

Alex looked to the fellas, “What are you guys doing here?”

“Alexys called me and told me she was at the school. The school has been closed for weeks because of the gas leak. She said she was going home so I wanted to check in on her,” Nick explained as he grabbed scissors to cut Alexys’ shirt into a sudden V-Neck while Clara shined a light on the injury.

“He called me along the way and told me what was happening. You haven’t answered your phone all day so I wanted to check in on you too,” Luke was rubbing at Alex’s shoulder from the backseat.

“And what about you?” Alexys asked River through gritted teeth.

“Part of my mission was to keep tabs on you both. When the golden watches were activated I reprogramed the neural link in my Eye Drive to record a moving timeline of history which I uploaded to the Tardis. I noticed that Alex’s timeline was shifting quite rapidly today and that your history had grown dangerously…askew. That was when Clara and I came to check on you both and found these two. I explained everything that had been occurring with the Church of Stillhet,” River answered.

“Everything?” the two wondered.

She smirked at Alexys in the rearview mirror, “Well not… _everything_.”

Both Alex and Alexys were silent except for slight wincing on Alexys’ end as Nick cleaned up her chest and Clara applied disinfectant. For the first time she looked and saw a round circle at the center of her chest was left with tendrils that broke off like lightning all around. Clara frowned, “Looks like second degree burns.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you need medical attention,” Nick answered.

“I have medical attention,” Alexys squeaked as she motioned to Clara.

Something suddenly clicked for Alex that he had to share, “Wait…so the Tardis is here? Why can’t we just…leave?”

“I’m afraid we are caught in a severe time distortion. The Tardis is stuck here until we can clear up what is happening,” River explained, “There is something keeping us here and it is very much on purpose.”

Alexys leaned forward slightly but Nick pressed her back against the seat as he dabbed at her chest again and Clara worked on opening her shirt a bit more to get to the lightning shapes on the edge of the circle, “When time keeps jumping do you two get caught in it?”

“As a fellow time traveller, I did until I got my hand on one of these,” Clara pulled out the golden compass from her pocket.

“Do you have one?” Alex asked River.

“I was able to take mine apart and use the version of a relativity differentiator it had to upgrade the Eye Drive,” she focused on the road.

“How did you know to do that?” Alex asked in amazement.

“It’s not that difficult,” she winked, “It uses similar components to that of the Tardis. It even has a chameleon circuit and protoplasm!”

“What does that mean?”

Alexys leaned forward again to answer but Clara pushed her back, “It means it can change shape and is kinda sentient. Is that why after sleeping with it I…kinda feel attached to mine?”

“That is exactly why,” River nodded.

“Look at the brains on you!” Clara exclaimed as she began unrolling gauze and tape.

“Does it explain the cracks?” Alex questioned.

“No, but _that_ explains why you all are surrounded in _so_ much Artron energy,” River huffed. 

Alex looked backward to Nick and Luke, “You guys aren’t freaking out about this?! I’m freaking out about this and I _know_ about all of this!”

“I’m focusing on bandaging the love of my life back here,” Nick answered.

“And I told you, Alex. I know you and your cousin get into some weird things but I’m here for the ride. I’d rather be with you not knowing a single thing about what’s going on than hear about it from the sidelines,” Luke grabbed the hand he held of Alex and kissed his fingers.

Alexys blushed brightly as she looked to Nick who applied gauze while Clara taped it, “The love of your life?”

“Yeah,” he spoke with a gentle smile on his features, “I didn’t tell you that yet?”

She gave a light shake of her head.

He held her chin gently between his fingers, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“River, where are we going?” Alex looked to see they were driving closer to the school.

“You both have your boyfriends and I thought it’d only be fair we pick up ours!”

“Wait!” Alex shouted, “When I looked through Rose’s Dream Journal Silents weren’t the only thing I saw! I also saw—”

River slammed on the breaks so hard everyone lurched forward.

_“IDENTIFY YOURSELF.”_

Alex and Alexys gasped with equal parts fear and equal parts amazement, “DALEKS!”

“Guys!” Nick and Luke shouted as they looked out of their windows.

“SILENTS!”

Alexys immediately passed out.

One Hour Later…

Warmth.

It was the first thing Alexys noted when she came back to her senses. A small yawn escaped her lips that soon allowed her to blink her eyes open. She noticed that she was in Nick’s arms. His hold on her was tight yet soothing. She was completely comfortable which must have meant it was at his expense but he didn’t seem to mind.

There was talking but with her senses still dulled it came as a quiet roar.

She leaned up to kiss beneath Nick’s chin happily.

He looked down and she expected to see love but all she saw was fear.

Alexys turned to what made him so afraid…and then passed out all over again.

“Did she just?”

“Yeah…again.”

For an hour Alex, Alexys, Luke, Nick, Clara, and River Song were held against their will by Silents and Daleks. Each time Alexys got a look at one of the Silents though she passed out cold. It would have been humorous if they all weren’t completely terrified themselves. The whole hour Alex, River, and Clara tried to come up with a plan yet each time their discussion resembled anything about the Doctor they were threatened with Alexys’ death. Luke tried on multiple occasions to ask why they were there but each time they were told they were waiting for the Beast.

Alex kept his eyes trained on the Silent in front of them. With no way to communicate all he could do was think and so think he did. He recalled Rose’s journal and the mention of “the Beast” in her dream. Attached was a picture of a Silent and a Dalek but it seemed they were in servitude to the Beast. His mind went through all the great monsters of the show in search of who could possibly hold that much control over two terrifying baddies of the Doctor Who universe.

He looked to River again but all she did was search around the room they were held in.

Alex followed her example.

They were in a large room in the A/C Repair School with a black and white checkered floor and lots of space. It appeared to be the size of a ball room with opera styled box seats at random intervals. All the way toward the right stood a large stage with a flight of steps on each side and a heavy red curtain blocking the rest of it. At the front center of the stage was a table that held three large boxes covered by a sheet. Over the stage was a sign that read: Dårlig Ulvkammer. Alex could find no other important detail other than the three Silents that stood watch around them.

A yawn came from Nick’s direction and he looked once again to see Alexys waking from her fear induced slumber. This time Nick cupped his hand against the side of her face to block her peripheral vision as he whispered to her the details of their position. Alex looked to Luke who sat with his eyes shut as if resting.

“A-Alex,” came Alexys’ scared voice.

“I’m here,” he spoke softly.

“Can you come to me?”

The Silents made no indication that it was accepted or not accepted.

Alex began to crawl toward where her and Nick sat against the wall. He moved in a position that he covered the Silents but with his back to them he faced their greatest defense. His brows furrowed as he looked to his dear cousin, “Are you alright?”

“My chest hurts,” she answered honestly.

When she looked down she saw that the cut pieces of her shirt had been tied into a small knot to cover the wound. She looked to Nick but his eyes remained fixed above Alex’s head. Alex frowned, “I’m sorry. What can I do to help?”

Alexys looked between the faces of the individuals with her and understood they were in great danger. Nick had warned her not to look at what held them hostage and so she knew with great certainty it had to be the most terrifying thing in the world. She had to come up with a plan.

“Alexys?”

“I need to use the bathroom,” she whispered with an attempt of sitting up. It was enough to get into her pocket but not enough that she could see over Alex’s head.

“You can just say that,” Alex chuckled.

“No…” she looked up at Nick with his clenched jaw she wriggled her shoulders around with exaggerated movement, “I need to _use_ the bathroom.”

“Oh…”

She nodded.

He furrowed his brows and looked away a moment, “Why are you telling me this?”

Her hand grasped Alex’s, “Because I need your help to do it.”

WAP.

Alexys wasn’t sure how far back she had gone but suddenly she found herself in the hallway being carried by Nick with her friends surrounding her as Daleks ushered them forward. Alex was at her side, holding onto her shoulder and shaking with confusion at the plan. He looked to Alexys and she still had the golden compass in her hand. River Song looked backward at them and understood immediately what she was attempting to do.

Immediately she began coughing.

“ _SILENCE!_ ” one of the Daleks shouted.

She coughed louder and louder and louder until all that could be heard was her coughing.

Alexys pressed the button.

_December 3 rd _

Alex and Alexys stood before the old church that was the cause of all their misfortune.

The Church of Stillhet.

The lake was empty with not even a dream on the street to accompany them. They looked to one another with understanding that they had no plan. All they had was one golden pocket watch each and four silver pocket watches between them.

They took a step forward but as they did the door opened and out walked Father Blackwood and beside him Zelda.

Alexys looked down to the watch with a small twist of the dial.

_December 5 th _

“What are we doing here?” Alex looked around and found them in the middle of the mortuary.

“Getting supplies,” she declared as she began looking through the cabinets.

Alex nodded with understanding at once. While Alexys grasped weapons she could find, Alex went to the chemicals and began collecting bottles of everything he knew to be flammable. Together they found large duffle bags that they filled with items they knew would be of use in their mission.

When they were done they stood beside each other and linked arms.

Alexys turned the dial.

_December 3 rd _

They arrived at the same point they had the first go around.

Once again the lake was empty.

The two looked at one another and stepped forward.

The front door opened to reveal Father Blackwood once again. Beside him was Zelda. Coming from behind him came Hilda and behind her Todd. Slowly another figure emerged taller than the both of them. Alex and Alexys gasped, “Jeff!”

Alexys turned the dial further toward the left.

_December 1 st_

An empty lake met them.

“This has got to work,” Alex spoke through gritted teeth.

The two took their steps forward but again the doors opened. Out stepped Father Blackwood, Aunt Zelda, Aunt Hilda, Vaughn, Garrett, Jeff Winger, Dean Pelton, Leonard, Todd, and Chang. They looked to each other with shock.

“One more time,” Alexys mumbled as she turned back the dial.

_November 30 th_

The air felt different.

To test it they stepped forward and waited for the doors to open.

Nothing happened. Together they gave a solid nod then ran the rest of the way to the old church. Immediately they began pouring the flammable liquid at the foundation. Alexys silently repeated the Our Father in hopes that she would be forgiven for what she felt to be a great sin. Alex worked with gusto as he imagined how terrified poor Luke was back at the hands of the Silents and the Daleks. Once again he wondered how it was possible for them both to team up.

“I just don’t get it…” Alex dropped the last jar of chemicals off to the side.

“Yeah, me either,” Alexys agreed before pausing to look at him, “What exactly don’t we get?”

“What could the Daleks and the Silents possibly have in common?” Alex elaborated.

“They have to have some common goal. We just have to think? What is something they both can agree on and want more than anything in the world?” Alexys wondered.

“Oh, that is simple Watchers.”

They spun their heads around to see Father Blackwood standing behind them.

“We all want the death of the Doctor.”

Black sacks wrapped around their head and they were dragged away.

The Spellman cousins were forced onto their knees before the sacks were ripped off. The two blinked hard to adjust from the darkness to the sudden light that came from before them. Slowly they understood where they were.

Together they found themselves inside the Church of Stillhet. They kneeled before the pulpit as Father Blackwood addressed the congregation. The two risked a glance backward and shuddered to find the pews filled with faces of Greendale residents. They looked to each other in disbelief. The church was not supposed to exist and yet it was at full capacity.

“Attention.”

They looked forward and squinted against the brightness ahead of them. It seemed the windows were facing the rising sun but were covered by a thick curtain that went across the whole wall. The light that filtered through made Father Blackwood seem to glow.

“You are all here to witness something of great beauty. We have in our hold the Watchers that threaten everything that we hold dear and here? Here we have our sacrifice and with this we welcome the Beast who will follow the fissures, swallow the void, and become the universe. Today marks the first step toward the prophecy! This is where an end meets our beginning!” Father Blackwood spun his fingers.

The scene began to unfold before Alex just as he had seen in Rose’s dream journal. He looked to Alexys and hissed, “We have to go _now_!”

“It is too late for escape now, Mr. Spellman,” Father Blackwood grinned. He made a circular gesture in the air again and as he did two men grabbed Alexys’ arms.

“Let her go!” Alex shouted as he rushed to his feet but someone was already waiting to restrain him.

“Don’t be disrespectful, Mr. Spellman. Do you know what The Church of Stillhet represents?” he questioned with the theatrics of a shout but the tone of a whisper.

Alex made no sound.

The man placed his finger to his lips to answer his own question, “The Church of Silence.”

It was as if the volume had gone down to zero.

The curtain behind Father Blackwood was opened to reveal a massive crack along the wall unraveling with each passing second. Strong arms grasped Alexys and though she screamed there was no sound that came out. Alex watched in horror as two men pulled her onto her feet toward the crack.

She thrashed wildly against the men as they brought her to it. The closer they took her, the wilder she became. Alex searched around for friendly faces but there was no one but Zelda and Hilda who looked at Alexys with pride.

All was lost until—

CRAAAAASH!

Everyone dropped forward as a vehicle lurched through the front doors of the Church. Alex and Alexys were thrown to the ground in the process and everyone looked up to find the grill of a Tardis blue Eldorado facing them. The front doors were kicked open and out came two of the most beautiful women in the world with what looked like futuristic stun guns.

Clara smirked, “Did someone call a Doctor?”

There was a moment of silence and then Zelda’s scream, “GET THEM!”

Clara and River sat back into the car and reversed out of the Church just as everyone jumped to their feet and ran. Alexys and Alex rushed to each other but as they reached other hands grasped them and began pulling them away. The two locked arms tight as they searched their pockets for the compass. Alexys grabbed hers while Alex kicked backward and fought to get closer to his best friend. Alexys spun the dial while a large fist came down against the back of her hea—

_December 10 th, 1941 _

The sky was a lovely shade of blue with white bulbous clouds floating across the sea of heaven. The chirping of birds sang a tune of safety and love. The feeling of plush grass like a bed of Earth brought feelings of comfort. A loving wind caressed away fear and doubt. There was only peace.

Alex looked to his left to Alexys who gazed up at the sky, “Where are we?”

“I think the better question is: _when_ are we?”

The two sat up to scope out their surroundings.

They were at the edge of a lush meadow overlooking a beautiful lake. Creatures of all different kinds played in the fields while butterflies flew with bees along the waves of air. A thick forest surrounded the scene as if it were protecting the lake from those that would seek to use it. The fact that Alex and Alexys were allowed there made them feel as though they were welcome. Everything felt so familiar and so at home.

“Oh my God…” Alex looked to Alexys as realization hit him, “We’re in the Church.”

“Uh…Alex? Buddy…Look around. We are definitely not in a church,” Alexys chuckled.

“No! Look at your compass. We have to be in the Church _decades_ before it was even built. There’s the lake, there’s the woods, the Church will be right here!” Alex used big gestures to paint the scene for Alexys.

She furrowed her brows as she looked down at her palm to the compass. She pressed the sides to open it but it remained locked shut, “Uh…it’s not working.”

“How is that possible?” Alex pulled out his and tried the same thing with the same result, “Oh no…Alexys when did you take us?”

“I don’t know! I just spun the dial and pressed the button! I thought it’d take us to last year at _most_! I didn’t know it would take us to last century! But River did tell us that these things are kinda sentient. Maybe it took us to somewhere we needed to go?” she stood up and began walking to the direction she remembered town being.

“Uh…where are you going?” Alex furrowed his brows.

“I’m heading back to town!” she exclaimed.

Alex shook his head as he pointed in the opposite direction, “Town is that way.”

“Oh…you know I’m bad at geography!”

The two walked through the grass on an imaginary road toward Greendale as they filled each other in on the events that had just transpired.

“So when I went back I waited for him at the corner that I had bumped into the Dean. We ended up talking and I found that Clara was waiting for him. Her name was Clarissa and she was a doctor that went by Dr. Clara!” Alex explained excitedly.

“For all the times she pretended to _be_ the Doctor,” Alexys pressed her hand to her chest for a moment but flinched at the touch of her still new wound. “I’m thinking this. River has been in the Tardis the whole time hiding out and trying to figure this thing out too. She was also supposed to keep an eye on us? Maybe it’s the same thing with the Doctors? Maybe Clara was supposed to keep an eye on the Eleventh Doctor and Rose on…I don’t know.”

“So Rose was lying about not remembering anything?” Alex’s face turned red with each word that left his mouth.

“Yeah! You said you read her dream journal? Maybe that was just a lie that it was a dream journal. Maybe she was trying to figure out what was going on the whole time too and had her own journal like mine,” Alexys offered.

“Okay,” Alex’s face was redder than the red in _red, white, and blue_. “What’s the deal? Tell me what’s going on. What happened? How did you _even_ get to see that journal?”

“Well…when I was going back through time,” Alex stopped right there.

“Yeah?”

“And I was trying to figure out what was going on.”

“Uh…huh.”

“I may or may not have had sex with Rose Tyler.”

“AHHHHHHHHH!!!”

The animals that were near ran, flew, and swam away in terror.

Alexys extended her hands for their shake as she screamed, “WHAT ABOUT LUKE!”

“It might have been a threesome!” he completed the tap, tap.

Alexys threw herself at Alex, nearly knocking him down as she jumped and hit his arm with bursts of excitement she did not know what to do with. She thrashed around to get the energy out then calmed down, “So! Where is she on the list?”

“Number one!” Alex laughed at the possibility it could be lower.

“Explain!”

“Me and Luke went to hang out at Dr. Cerberus while she was working. She flirted with us the _whole_ time. We drank a little and after close she took us to the back and told us to wait for her while she got some wine. When she came back she was naked.”

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” she screamed, extending her hands for the shake again.

Alex tap, tapped as he continued to explain, “She watched me and Luke do it for a while and then she did stuff with me and then with him and then we went to her apartment and then we did stuff all together! It was the _best_ night of my life!”

Alexys screamed a high pitch scream of excitement for her friend.

“But I was under the impression we were having sex with Briar…does this mean that I actually had sex with _the_ Rose Tyler?” Alex began getting more and more excited about the event in retrospect.

“I mean…yeah! Alex! You had a flipping threesome with Luke and Rose Tyler! You are _the_ man!” Alexys could not believe the incredibleness of it.

“Enough about me though. How are you doing? This has been great but we’re breezing past something horrifying. _You almost died_ ,” Alex stopped to put on his friend’s shoulder, unsure if it was for her benefit or his.

She frowned, “I don’t think I’m ready to process it, honestly. The only thing I _do_ need to process is that I kind of made out with Professor Smythe!”

“What!”

“Yes! It was when I went to the college and everything had changed. I was so scared and I was stuck in the hallway and he opened the door and kissed me and I definitely kissed back!” she held her hand over her mouth, “I told him that I can’t though because I’m with Nick and we agreed that as long as Nick is in the picture we can’t be.”

Alex was quiet, listening to what she said but also listening to what was not said. He knew his friend had a way of deflecting and there were moments he would push back to get deeper to the core. He debated if this was a time but he decided against it, “I just want to say that no matter what happens or who you end up with…I’m happy you are alive. And I’m sure both of them are too regardless of who you pick. I love you. You are my best, best friend.”

Alexys gave a soft smile at Alex. She accepted the words but in the moment could not truly let them sink in. Her mind was focused on the task at hand and so she simply gave him a finger guns and nodded, “I love you too. So, we have more answers but we need to figure out what’s going on.”

“Right, well. Silents and Daleks are working together with Father Blackwood,” Alex spoke his words calmly.

“Right. And the motivation of Father Blackwood is to unleash something called the Beast so that it can ‘swallow the void’ and ‘become the universe’. The motivation of the Silents and the Daleks is to kill the Doctor,” Alexys added these points to the list.

“The religion thing makes sense now. The Silents were created as part of a religion. They have mind control properties so I get how all these people fall prey to them.”

Alexys nodded, “Right. Their plan is to take over all of Greendale so they can locate the Doctor. They took the pages from my journal so they already know _who_ they are.”

“Except for the 10th Doctor,” Alex added.

“Right, because you _just_ added that in the new timeline. Speaking of! I think these are the reason once you’re corrupted by the Silents you’re corrupted all the way through your own timeline,” Alexys motioned toward her own compass in hand.

“The question is: where do these come from?” Alex pulled out his to observe it.

“I think it has to be the Daleks. I think they are part of what it is and how it was made.”

“But they keep saying it’s _Time Lord_ Technology,” Alex countered.

“Well, a _form_ of Time Lord Technology. Maybe they got the blue print from somewhere else and used it to make them. I’m sure they’re the ones dropping it from the sky too.” Alexys was resolved to leave it there until her encounter with Father Blackwood came back to mind, “Wait…I talked to Father Blackwood one on one.”

“What? When?”

“After the kiss. I went back to the night at the Blue Moon Tavern. They need the essence of the Doctor. They need these fob watches,” Alexys pulled out her pair in the blue bag while Alex pulled out his in the black.

Alex let out a sigh, “Okay…I think we need to start writing this all down. Do you have your journal with you?”

Alexys pulled off the mini backpack that had stayed attached to her during the course of events, “I’ve got it right in here.”

“Perfect! Also…where are we going?”

“I think we should go to the Spellman house. Something tells me it’s where we need to be,” Alexys was absolutely certain her words were true. 

The walk through Greendale was shorter than it had already been. The small town was suddenly much smaller with a lack of residence, commercial buildings, and roadways. It was relatively empty though whoever was out had quite a fright at the sight of the two. They realized they stuck out like a _very_ sore thumb. Their walk to the Spellman Mortuary quickened.

When they arrived it was…different. The signature darkness of the estate was replaced by a small, white farm house. It was surrounded by rolling hills of grass and trees and land as far the eye could see. The sun shined upon it with promise of good fortune. The best fortune was that it appeared empty.

The two looked around the back and found an easy way to enter. It seemed the security systems of old were nothing compared to 21st century street smarts. They entered and were met with a totally different vibe than the Spellman home waiting for them back in their time. The décor was warm, bright, family oriented in a way that was uncommon to the Spellmans. It was lovely.

“I found a date book here,” Alex called out from the front of the house. Alexys found him quickly as he read off the page, “It looks like the guy that lives here is our grandfather. The home was left to him after the death of our great grandfather. It’s left vacant because he is in the war though some neighbors. Also…it’s 1941.”

“What!”

“Yeah…no wonder the compasses don’t work. They haven’t been invented yet,” Alex sat down on one of the large cushioned seats.

“So you’re telling me we are _stranded_ in 1941?” Alexys shook her head with disbelief, “What are we going to do here! Be pyromaniac spinsters like great aunt Theodosia and uncle Ph—AHHHH!”

Her gasp was so loud it sounded as though her lungs had turned into speakers. Alex jumped as he walked to her, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

She pointed at him and then pointed at her, “WE’RE GREAT UNCLE PHILIP AND GREAT AUNT THEODOSIA. WE’RE GREAT AUNT THEODOSIA AND GREAT UNCLE PHILIP!”

“What? No—”q

“Dear Theodosia, what to say to you?” Alexys began to sing with heightened excitement, “You have my eyes, you have your mother’s name. When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart!”

It dawned on Alex then as he skipped to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s part, “Oh, Philip, when you smile I am undone. My son.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait. Come on. Let’s…let’s look around for pictures to make sure!” she began running through the hallways in search of anything that would disprove her.

Alex sat down on the chair again, “No…you’re not wrong. The only thing we know about great uncle Philip and great aunt Theodosia was that they were spinsters that burned the house down. They were Edward Sr.’s half siblings that came to stay with and they were weird. The town’s people did not trust them. They’re a cautionary tale. Also…I have no doubt you came up with those names.”

“So…what? Is this a paradox? Is this meant to be? Are we meant to be here?”

“It could be why your compass took us back here. You and River say it’s sentient. It could have taken us here on purpose,” Alex spoke but stared off into the distance as he considered what that could mean.

“So what? We just burn down the house? WHY WOULD WE BURN DOWN THE HOUSE?” Alexys shouted.

“I don’t know…but what I do know is…we are about seventy-nine years in the past.”

“So we should totally take baths and then meet back up here?”

Alex chuckled, “We should totally take a bath and then meet back up here.”

Two Hours Later…

“I see we both had the same idea,” Alexys smirked as she walked down the stairs in a pair of clothes she had found to belong to their grandfather.

“I did, I did,” Alex grinned, standing from his seat to show off.

“Don’t you look quite fetching!” she clapped her hands happily.

“Ah, thank you. Ah, thank you,” Alex smiled before taking a seat once more, “Uhhh, I’m sorry Alexys but I’m pretty sure women do not wear pants in this time period.”

Alexys scrunched her face toward him but removed her small velvet bag and her cell phone from her pocket, “If I wore a dress there would be no way for me to hold onto this.”

“True, true,” he nodded his head.

“I took the liberty of filling everything into my journal. Want to see?” she pulled out the small book from under her arm and handed it to Alex.

“Of course,” he took the small book with something nagging at his mind. He opened the page to where the small ribbon bookmark waited and gasped, “ROSE TYLER!”

“What?” Alexys looked to the man in confusion. “What about her?”

“ _This_ is Rose Tyler’s dream journal. _This_ is what I found in her apartment!”

“How is that possible? Nick gave it to me? It’s mine?” Alexys took the book back from him, “I mean…I get timey wimey spacey wacey stuff but…what?”

“Why have you been writing all this down?”

“So we could get everything out on paper and can figure out what the details mean.”

“What gave you that idea?” Alex wondered as he relived the moments of finding the journal and reading it and then rushing home and then them _actually_ experiencing it, “I don’t get it…”

“We’re supposed to be back here then,” Alexys met his stare, “This is supposed to happen. Our only mission now is to figure out _why_ we are back here. We can assume that we’ve done it before but what did we miss the first time around. We know we set the house on fire and somehow Rose gets this book. What else? What can there be done that we didn’t already do?”

Alex let out a sigh, “I looked around while you were still in your bath. There is nothing out of the ordinary here. Everything looks normal. I don’t know what we’re doing here or how to get out.”

“About leaving,” Alexys pulled the compass from her other pocket and began running two fingers around it in a circle, “Do that to your compass.”

Alex followed her instruction, “Okay?”

“Now counter clockwise.”

“Okay.”

“Back to clockwise.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Now use your ha—”

“Do you want me to follow the steps of from the dance?” Alex interrupted to get to the point.

“Yes! Don’t you feel it?”

Alex could not deny it. When he followed the circle around the compass he felt a slightly shiver through him. It was as if the compass was an animal lightly stirring from slumber yet he knew it would need more to actually wake it up, “It needs more. Some sort of jump start.”

“I think we should go to Greendale,” Alexys sighed, “I think we can definitely find what we’re looking for there.”

“Is Greendale even around?” Alex wondered, continuing the rotation of the compass.

“Yeah and apparently the Church of Stillhet has been around too. If there are any clues we’re going to find about why we’re here. I have no doubt it’ll be there.” 


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two:

“Well, we are fucked.”

The words came from Alex as they gazed at the construction of Greendale Community College. It was evening by the time they managed to make it to the College but the lights of the construction site were made of Dalek bodies. So far only one building had been raised but that wasn’t the concern. The concern was the group of Daleks burying what looked like a massive coil of metal into the ground where cafeteria of the school would eventually be built.

“I don’t think so,” Alexys countered, “This kind of…is all starting to make sense. There’s a reason we call these things compasses.”

“Yeah…it’s a codename. That you made up!” Alex exclaimed.

“But more than that. Compasses work with magnetism right? Maybe they built this and used us dancing to create some energy field that magnetized the town and got the compasses to open and start working?” Alexys wrote everything down in her journal as she thought it, “We should do something to sabotage everything they’re building.”

“But that would leave us stuck here…permanently,” Alex frowned.

“Right…but we’re already stuck here unless we can jump start the compasses.”

“I don’t know. We might be able to figure something out. If we get as close to that thing as possible and then act out the dance for the compass…it might be the juice we need. Right?” Alex offered.

“We just need to find a way to get there without the Daleks,” Alexys frowned.

“I doubt they’d be able to work during the day without the town noticing. They probably work only at night. If we come during the day we might be able to get around the site then,” Alex felt resolute in his suggestion.

“Okay…so what do we do now?” Alexys wondered.

“Possibly find something to eat?”

The two made their way back to the house where they uncovered a mostly empty kitchen. In the icebox they found an old pack of steak while in the cupboard they found an old bag of rice that Alex promised he could make something out of, though it would be something not entirely delicious. While he cooked, Alexys made the best effort of filling in the details of her journal. Everything that she knew of the new Spellman history came to her and she realized that Great Aunt Theodosia and Great Uncle Philip had always been mysterious figures. She wondered how anyone knew who they were but as she jotted down the question she realized the answer.

Writing.

Written history.

Alexys quickly wrote down in her journal what she hoped would happen as if it were actuality—her and Alex making the compass work and getting out of there. She then pulled out a scrap of parchment paper and began to write a letter to their grandfather. In it she explained details of their “long lost relation” and that they were half siblings from a different mother. She explained that they arrived to visit but he was not there and they were very upset. She made sure to add details about them being spinsters and…unhinged.

“Dinner is ready!” Alex called out from the kitchen.

“Coming!” Alexys grabbed her letter and walked to the kitchen where Alex was plating the food, “This smells great.”

“It’s nothing like what I’ve made before but it will do.”

“It definitely will, check out what I made,” she read the letter off to him while he ate.

“That’s perfect. But what do we do about burning down the house?” he frowned.

Alexys gave a shrug of her shoulders, “If you didn’t do it while cooking then I doubt it’s going to happen. Maybe someone else does it and blames us?”

“That would be just our luck.”

The two were quiet while they ate their meal until Alexys frowned, “I wonder what’s happening to them. I don’t know what I’d do if something bad happened to Nick.”

“You’re starting to sound like him,” Alex teased.

Alexys smiled, “That’s not a bad thing. I know I kissed the Professor but after all this time? I can’t stop thinking about him. I miss him so much. It’s like he’s become part of me. He’s always there and this time that he’s not? He’s so far away and the thought of never seeing him again is painful.”

“I feel the same way about Luke. I keep thinking we should have brought them with us,” Alex looked away.

“I thought it would? I mean Nick _was_ touching me. And you were touching Luke at one point. Why didn’t they come with us?” she wondered.

“Maybe it’s because they’re not time travellers?”

Alexys frowned, “Maybe.”

The two continued their meal in light conversation. When the evening came they were exhausted and decided to sleep. It was rare for them to share a bed but Alexys was afraid the darker the house got. The slept on complete opposite sides of their grandfather’s bed and waited for sleep to take them. When sleep did not come, Alexys slowly began to talk about the run in with the Silent. Alex listened to her express what had happened in the little detail she gave. When there was space for it, he shared how horrifying it was from his end to possibly lose her. They shared a cry and they shared conversation and they shared hope.

When sleep came they shared the comfort of snores.

In the early dawn there was a knock.

Knock Knock. Knock Knock.

Alex yawned, “Who the fuck could that be?”

Alexys stood, “I’ll get it. I’m a lovely woman. I’ll use my feminine wiles to get whoever it is to leave.”

Before Alex could protest she bounded down the steps and opened the door.

“Good morning. I’m a friend of Mr. Spellman here. He asked me to keep an eye on the house while he was away fighting the war. I couldn’t help but notice your sudden arrival. Is he expecting you?”

“Why yes, of course,” Alexys tried her best to match his accent as she hid her body behind the door, “I am his half-sister Theodosia. I’m here with my brother Philip. He told us he wasn’t long for the war and asked us to take care of his affairs. We plan a celebration for when he returns.”

“I hope I am invited,” he chuckled, “My name is Leonard, by the way.”

She looked to him curiosly. He was a young man but for some reason his features were becoming familiar, “Leonard. Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Well, I am the seed. The seed that is planted and shall grow into food for the Beast!” he smiled his pleasant smile.

It was then that she realized who he was. The man that had snitched on her to Nick! She gasped, “Leonard!”

“Do you hear that?” he smirked, “Silence!”

Crash.

The sound of windows smashing caused her to jump which gave Leonard enough time to run out the door, “You will perish! You will all perish and you will never stop the Beast!”

The smell of smoke filled the house and Alexys ran up the stairs as she shouted, “Fire! Fire! Leonard set the house on fire!”

Alex ran down to meet her with the velvet bags and her journal and their phones, “We need to get out! Now!”

“I need clothes!”

“There’s no time!”

CRASH!

The fire had spiraled out of control and when they looked the entire kitchen was engulfed. They rushed out the front door but gun shots ricocheted off the door frame. They cowered behind while the heat of the flames licked at their skin and the smoke filled their lungs. A group of young men ran away from the house firing their guns. They waited until the men were just a few strides away and then ran outside and as far from the burning house as they could. They were in time to watch the house crumble as flames consumed everything everywhere.

They dropped to the grass as they looked to the fire.

“What do we do now!” Alex shouted.

Alexys was quiet as she watched, “We go to Greendale Community College.”

Dressed in old pajamas the two hiked their shoeless way to the Community College. The whole time they bitterly declared that when they returned to their time they would have no mercy. So far too many attempts on their life had been made and they were _not_ in the mood for anymore.

“This is so stupid! I can’t believe I’m not even wearing pants!” Alexys grumbled as she held onto the hem of old-fashioned night gown with hands already full of her cell phone, velvet bag, compass, and journal under her arm.

Alex had to hold up his pants too but he had pockets, “This is unforgivable!”

They got to the hill over the College and were happy to find that it was empty. Alexys sighed, “Thank God.”

Alex kept a comment to himself but pointed out, “It looks like they already filled in the coil. We can just walk around it and spin the compass.”

“Perfect,” Alexys didn’t wait any longer. She began a light jog to the grounds they had been recently packed in.

Alex was right behind her though he made sure to look in all directions for anything that could be Dalek related. The last thing they needed was to be caught off guard while they were trying to find a way home. If the Daleks destroyed them in 1941 who knew what kind of ripple effect that would have on the universe. Alex didn’t want to think of the possibility. He didn’t want to think of never seeing Luke again. He didn’t want to think of never seeing Hicks.

They got to the ground and Alex pulled out his compass, “I can feel it reacting to the area here. I think the metal coil really does play a—”

“ _IDENTIFY YOURSELF_.” 

“We are members of the Church of Stillhet!” Alexys tried.

“ _FALSE!_ ”

Alex looked and noted that they were both wearing white. He looked to see two Daleks in front of them with no one behind them. He tried a different approach, “We’re lost.”

“ _FALSE!_ ”

“We know where the Doctor is!”

Alex looked to Alexys in shock but when she looked to him there was mischievousness in her eye that meant she had a plan. She made a motion with her hands that Alex took to mean for him to get into motion. He removed the compass from his pocket while she distracted them and behind his back he began twisting the compass around his fingers as they had twisted their bodies around the dance.

The truth was, Alexys had made no motion to Alex. What she really did was flick her phone to life and with her thumb pulled up her voice memo. Though nothing with service or wifi worked she still had the other apps she knew she could use. She did not know why but there was a strange feeling inside of her that told her to record her conversation. She knew she was not in a place to question anything and so she obliged.

“ _WHERE IS THE DOCTOR?_ ”

“We can take you to him,” she spoke honestly, “If you take us to 2020 we can show you where he is.”

“ _UNACCEPTABLE. OUR MISSION IS TO SECURE THE COIL IN 1941_.”

“Oh, _that_ is your mission? I didn’t know you took orders from the Silents,” Alexys scoffed.

“ _WE DO NOT TAKE ORDERS_ ,” the nearest Dalek snapped, rolling toward her with his gunstick raised toward her.

She stepped back in fear, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m just surprised that the greatest warrior race in the universe is doing all the labor while they do nothing. I don’t understand why you both are teaming up. I mean I understand why you would team up with them…I’m terrified of them. I can’t even look at one without passing out. I can understand that but why are they teamed up with you? I guess…so you can do the labor?”

“ _WE ARE LYING IN WAIT WHILE WE CARRY OUT OUR OWN AGENDA_ ,” the one further back answered.

“Is it to release the Beast so that it can swallow the void and become the universe?” Alexys questioned.

“ _IT IS TO EXTERMINATE THE BEAST SO THAT WE MAY CONQUER THE UNIVERSE AS THE SUPERIOR RACE ONCE AND FOR ALL_.”

“Interesting,” Alexys noted that it was a very on-brand plan, “Wouldn’t you want to take us to 2020 so we can help you with that plan?”

They were quiet as they looked her over, “ _NO NEED. WE UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE THE ESSENCE OF THE DOCTOR. THE SOURCE REQUIRES THE ESSENCE TO RELEASE THE BEAST. GIVE US THE ESSENCE OR YOU SHALL BE EXTERMINATED_.”

“Uh…uh…uh,” she looked to Alex.

“ _EXTERMINA_ —”

Click.

Alex grabbed Alexys’ arm as he pressed the dial button of his compass.

_December 15 th, 1971_

“It worked!” Alex shouted, pulling Alexys into a tight hug of excitement.

“I…I…” Alexys felt like she could still see the Dalek in front of her charging up to unleash.

“We’re okay,” Alex repeated and as he did Alexys finally let out the air she had been holding. She nodded and hugged Alex back with so much gratitude for saving their life.

“We’re alive. We’re here,” she pulled back with joy.

“Yes, but where is here?” Alex wondered.

“The home of Spellman Mortuary. And you both are trespassing.”

All they saw was a double-barrel shotgun pointed right in their direction.

Alex and Alexys looked at each other then back to the gun and shouted, “We know Zelda and Hilda!”

“Zelda and Hilda have been lost to the church for years! You are not taking me with you!”

“No!” Alexys shook her head, “No, no! We aren’t part of that thing. Look at us. We’re wearing white!”

“You are…”

“We know how to get them back,” Alex had his hands up in surrender but his voice had ultimate authority.

The man lowered the shotgun to reveal himself as, “Edward Spellman. Tell me how to get my sister’s back.”

Alex and Alexys looked to each other with a sigh then proceeded to tell him everything.

Well, not _everything_.

They made sure to leave out the part about everything being from a TV Show and Alex’s threesome. In the new timeline, without magic, Edward Spellman was a gifted engineer that had yet to meet Alexys’ mother. In his research he had come across theories of time travel, black holes, space travel, and extraterrestrials. He was not put off by the story Alex and Alexys recounted though he was put off by their inability to explain anything beyond a sentence or two. He was fascinated by the Tardis but frustrated by the major detail being “it’s bigger on the inside.”

Somewhere in their talk Edward had declared he had a headache but did not explain why. Alex and Alexys simply ate their Pringles and thanked him as he went off with Alexys’ journal to make them lunch. The two sat across from each other around the fireplace. The Spellman home had become what they were used to. Edward had also promised that he had spent the last few years upgrading the security system of the house after the events that lead the church to take away his sisters. The comforts allowed them to unwind from all the promises of death that had come their way. It wasn’t long before they had fallen asleep.

“Hey, you two.”

The feeling of Edward lightly pushing at Alexys’ shoulder awakened her. She smiled briefly at the man and opened her eyes. They had explained that they were related but she did not let him know she was meant to be his daughter in the future.

“Lunch is ready,” he spoke, calmly as me moved to Alex to get him awake too. “It’s just some Hamburger Helper. I’m not much of a cook.”

“That sounds amazing,” Alex yawned and followed the man to the dinner table.

“This smells great,” Alexys cheered happily as she sat down and began to stuff her face, “This is really good!”

“I appreciate your kindness but I know you only say that because you’re hungry,” Edward smiled kindly, “I’ve been thinking about your situation, though.”

“What about it?” Alex wondered.

“Based on the metal coil that you described as the Darleks implanting at the school—”

“Daleks,” Alex and Alexys corrected.

“—and the choreography that allowed them to open at the dance as well as when facing the…Daleks. I believe I can find a way to create the magnetism on a smaller scale. It might damage the compass, as you say, but it could give you enough power to finally make it home. If you’d allow me a chance to look at one of the—”

Alex and Alexys placed theirs on the table immediately.

“I appreciate the trust you have in me,” Edward smiled as he grabbed the closest compass, “You will not be disappointed.”

Alexys took her compass back into her lap as Edward rushed to some hidden room in the house. She looked to Alex with happiness, “I know we’re not anywhere closer to home but I feel better. I can’t believe everything that has happened so far. We’ve faced more than I could have imagined with the Doctor.”

“I know. It’s…it’s so much,” Alex let out a breath.

“Oh! Before I forget,” she pulled out her phone to show the voice memo with the Daleks.

“Why did you take this?” he wondered how she had time in the middle of facing certain death to record what the Daleks were saying.

“I don’t know. I just felt an urge to and I think it’ll help us in the end,” she looked down at her bowl, “I think we should take a shower. I’m covered all in…the reminder we almost died in a fire.”

“So far in our time travel it seems all we’ve done is eat, shower, and change our clothes,” Alex pondered.

“Good idea! Definitely need to change our clothes,” she grinned. “I’m leaving my bowl on the counter. I will be coming back for seconds.”

Alex chuckled, “Okay, perfect. I’ll see you soon.”

Alexys was up and out of the kitchen without another word.

Alex realized she had forgotten her cell phone and he considered calling after her but then came to the conclusion that it would be much funnier if he held onto it the whole time and when they returned to the present made her believe she had forgotten it in the past.

He laughed to himself already. It would be hilarious.

In the new Spellman home Alex found that his room was actually Edward’s study. He was forced to relocate to one of the spare bedrooms but he was happy to note that it was by Alexys’. Her room seemed to have belonged to Hilda and Zelda’s but with them gone it remained empty. The two took their time adjusting to their new life in the 70s. Thanks to the rule of Spellman Family that one must _never_ throw away clothes, the two had lots to choose from. Alexys also took the time to redress her wound and finally take something for the pain though she wasn’t sure what it was and simply hoped for the best.

When they both arrived for seconds of lunch Alexys was happy to see Alex in as much tie dye as she wore. The two found themselves genuinely at peace in the new version of their old home. Once again they discussed the desire to save Greendale and then stay in it. Alexys had her issues with having sisters back home and Alex had Hicks he needed to return to but for the moment they imagined a life where both worlds could collide. It was heaven.

Alex and Alexys spent the rest of the day cleaning up the house for Edward. It was clear he had been living on his own for a while. Every few hours he would appear in the kitchen for a snack but spoke few words. He had the appearance of a mad scientist on the verge of a breakthrough. To thank him for everything he worked on the two decided to make him dinner that was more than Hamburger Helper. With the ingredients present they were able to make homemade pizza that ended up being very good.

“Knock, knock,” Alexys tapped on the attic door with a personal pizza on a plate just for him. Alex stood behind her with a drink that he had seen Edward taking on his small trips.

“Come in!” the man called in a voice of disarray.

The two entered and smiled to see the room wasn’t that different from how Alex had left it. There were bookshelves and tables with piles of volumes that were tossed about. The only difference was that instead of a bed there was a massive work table against the window. A small lamp casted a beam over what Edward worked on but with his back to them it was hard to see. They took careful steps closer to him.

“We made pizza,” Alex offered.

“Thank you, so much,” he mumbled, “Can you leave it on the table THERE! I’ve got it!”

The two jumped but followed his instructions, “Did you get it open?”

“I am about to, come here!”

They scurried forward as he stepped back.

The man pushed his glasses up off of his face as he pointed to the work desk, “I made a concentrated version of what the Daleks and the Silence used at the school in your time. Under the table here I have secured a metal coil from the dryer. I used the old toy train set to build a track around the compass here. I have two small trains on either side with a magnet of positive charge on this end and a magnet of negative on this end. I have redrawn the symbols on scrap paper and have them lying around like so. I have programed the trains to move in the exact steps you have directed here and once I flip the switch it should work.”

“Wow! You did all this today!”

“Oh…this is nothing. Shall I continue?”

“Please!”

He flipped the switch.

“Oh…it’s taking it’s time,” Alex commented as he watched the small trains move very slowly.

“Hm…It must be the circuit,” he moved forward to fix it.

“You know what? Why don’t we just go downstairs and eat. We can let this thing take all night while you actually get some food in you and we hear more about Hilda and Zelda and you as kids. How does that sound?” Alexys smiled. 

Edward took off his glasses completely as he let out a smile, “That would be great.”

They brought the food back down to the kitchen table where four more personal pizzas waited—Alex and Alexys’ plus extras they made with the dough.

Ding. Dong.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Edward smiled warmly to the two.

They nodded thoughtfully as they followed. They waited in the living room while he walked to the door. He pushed the curtain back for a peek.

“Hilda!” he shouted as he threw open the door and wrapped his arms around her.

When he pulled back she looked to them with a gentle smile, “You naughty, naughty children.” 

She was young.

So, so much younger than they remembered but there was an age in her eyes that seemed unnatural, “We have been waiting for you.”

“Hilda…how do you know us?” Alex questioned.

“Oh, Stillhet knows the Watchers,” she smiled warmly, “Stillhet will always know the Watchers. And I will always know my niece and nephew.”

“Niece and nephew?” Edward questioned.

She turned to them with surprise, “They didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Alexys is your daughter,” she looked back to them with a sinister look in their eye.

Edward’s mouth fell slightly open, “My daughter?”

Alexys blushed as she gave a brief wave of her hand, “Hey dad.”

“How could you not tell me?” he wondered.

“I’m sure there is a lot they haven’t told you.”

“Whatever reason,” Edward looked to Hilda with amazement and then crushed her into an embrace, “I have not seen you in years. Please don’t deny me the chance to talk with my sister again. Please, join us for dinner. I will give you what you need but please just sit down for dinner.”

“Edward!” Alex shouted in surprise.

“Please,” he looked between Alex and Alexys with desperation, “Let us have this chance.”

“Is there room for another?”

The blood in their veins ran cold as Zelda arrived through the front door. Edward let out a cry of joy as he wrapped both of his sisters into a great big embrace. Alex looked to Alexys and she back to him as both of their Aunts stared daggers into their bodies. Both checked their pockets for the fob watches that never left them. In their mind the slow train around the compass played through its sequence. They would need at least an hour before it was complete.

They hoped their gift of gab would be enough to get them through it.

It did not.

They all sat at the table with their pizzas before them and drinks. Hilda and Zelda stared at no one but Alex and Alexys while Edward stared at no one but them. Through brief fragments of conversation it became clear that they had lost their parents at a young age. Soon after the sisters ran off to the Church of Stillhet which left Edward all alone. Instead of being bitter he was welcoming and excited though he knew better than to mention the compass upstairs.

Zelda and Hilda left their food completely untouched. Alex cut up pieces of his pizza into smaller pieces with an unwillingness to let go of the only weapons he had. The only people that genuinely ate were Alexys and Edward. 

It did not go on for long.

“Do you know you are housing the enemy, dear Edward?” Zelda asked, lighting up a cigarette and holding it between her two fingers. 

It was an odd thing to watch her smoke without the holder but she looked damn cool doing it. Alex shook his head, “We are not the enemy.”

“If that is my daughter how can I not put trust in her? How can you both not put trust in your niece and nephew?” he looked to them with sadness.

“We put trust in the Church and what is right, Edward. You have no idea what will happen between us in the future. You have no idea the betrayals,” Zelda spoke with an indignant tone.

“Betrayal? What betrayal?” Alexys couldn’t help but snap.

“You both are liars that will be living under our roof for years with no ounce of loyalty or honesty in your bones!” Hilda exclaimed.

“Where are you getting this information from if you have not lived it?” Alex was entirely offended by the accusation Hilda threw at him.

“It is a prophecy!” Zelda declared.

“That is no prophecy! That’s bullshit!” Alexys was angry.

“Language,” Edward looked to Alexys with fatherly eyes.

“Enough of this. Give us the essence of the Doctor,” in a flash Zelda had her knife at Edward’s throat.

“Zelda! What is the meaning of this!” he shouted in horror of what his own sister was threatening to do to him.

“It’s a butter knife!” Alex shouted in confusion.

“That only means it will hurt much more,” Hilda smirked.

“Give us the essence of the Doctor or he will die and with him your chance at ever existing,” Zelda declared her words fiercely.

The two felt the weight of the velvet bags holding their fob watches and considered what to do. There were so many options yet as she went through them Alexys found herself unafraid. She stared between Zelda and Edward as her mind worked through the possibilities. Yes, Edward was Alexys Spellman’s father. But she was only Alexys Spellman in Greendale. In Universe A she had a father—one she loved very much! If Zelda were to kill Edward she doubted it would have an effect on her. Alex at her side had the same understanding.

“Tell her now!” Hilda reinforced.

Alex was quiet as he looked to Zelda, visibly judging her in a manner that made everyone at the table uneasy until he let out a soft shake of his head, “You’re not going to kill your brother.”

“Watch m—”

“I have no doubt you’re capable of killing him but you’re not.”

“And why will I not?”

Alexys watched Zelda and Alex speak as she looked at what was in her own hand.

“Killing Edward will not harm her. We are the great and mysterious Watchers that have been foretold.”

“And I…” in a blur of motion Alexys had her knife at Hilda’s throat, “…have my own butter knife.”

“Oh, enough of this,” Edward huffed. In a single move he had Zelda’s arm twisted off of him and her body pinned against the table, “Zelda, Hilda, I hoped you had shaken off the heinous manipulation of the Church but I see I have no such luck. ‘Great and Mysterious Watchers’ do you have any idea how to break through it?”

“Uh…maybe with your own reverse mind control?” Alexys offered.

“AH-HAH!”

Suddenly Alexys was thrown backward against the sink by a quick two shot from Hilda. She threw herself at her and pushed her hand into the garbage disposal while her other hand held onto the switch, “Give us the essence of the Doctor!”

“Fine!” Alex shouted, “Just let her go!”

“Release Zelda!” she countered with her own demand.

Edward shrugged and stepped back from Zelda. She stood upright then picked up her cigarette off the ground, “That was dramatic.”

“Get the essence and bring it to us,” Hilda demanded, shoving Alexys’ hand deeper into the garbage disposal so that she could feel the blades.

“Fine!” Alex shouted, “But Alexys needs to come with me. We have two halves of the essence and we hid them in separate places in the house. I don’t know where she put her half.”

“Tell us where it is,” Hilda demanded.

Alexys looked backward at the youth that was meant to grow into her Aunt and sneered, “Over my dead fucking body!”

“THAT’S I—”

“LADIES,” Edward pointed his double barrel shot gun at the scene in the kitchen, “Let up?”

Hilda unwillingly released Alexys with a hiss, “That’s my shirt you’re wearing.”

“Yeah, and I’m gonna wear a whole _lot_ of it.” 

“Enough,” Edward rolled his eyes.

“I suppose you are going to ask us to leave now?” Zelda looked at him with disgust.

“That would be preferable,” Edward kept his gaze level on his sisters.

“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed,” Hilda stood upright with her shoulders square.

“And why is that?” he asked.

“We brought back up.”

The front door was kicked open, the alarm system began blaring, and the shot gun went off. Alex and Alexys dropped to the floor as a group of bodies surged through the home. Hilda and Zelda looked for them in the confusion but Alex and Alexys had already scooted under the table.

“What do we do!” Alex asked.

“We make a run for it!” Alexys replied.

“Where?!”

Alexys pointed upward.

The chair that had been blocking them ripped away as Zelda shouted, “Under here! They’re under here!”

The two crawled away and as they stood a gunshot boomed behind them. They looked to see Edward had protected them from reaching hands. He shouted as he reloaded, “RUN!”

“RIP THE HOUSE APART!” Hilda screamed.

Alex and Alexys rushed through the house. There were so many people dismantling the Spellman home it broke their heart. But they could not stop them. Instead they ran as fast as they could up the back stairs to the hallway and then to Edward’s study. When they got in they slammed the door behind them and locked it. Alex moved to brace the door with a chair as Alexys rushed to the compass.

“It still hasn’t opened!” she nearly cried.

“What sequence is it in?”

“I don’t know!”

Alex walked to Alexys to look at the magnets going around the track, “I think they’re making the half circles. It could almost be done?”

The sound of the noise downstairs made Alexys flinch with every loud BOOM. She looked to her best, best friend turned cousin with a small shake of her head, “I don’t know if we’ll make it out of this one.”

The sound of steps pummeling up the stairs caused Alex and Alexys to jump toward each other. A strange vibrating in Alex’s pocket suddenly got his attention and he looked down to find that it was the pocket knife Luke had given him. He pulled out with a curious look of it. Since he had packed it with him it served only as a brief reminder of his love and so he rarely glanced at it but it really did nothing beyond that. Suddenly it was vibrating from an unknown source.

Loud banging on the door signified their hiding place had been found.

“What is that?” Alexys wondered. 

Shoulders were slamming against the door.

“It’s the pocket knife Luke gave me. That was passed down for generations in his family?” Alex looked to her, “It’s vibrating.”

The chair that braced their holding crumbled as men surged into the room.

The pocket knife suddenly opened to reveal a thick and deadly blade. Alex jumped forward with blade at the ready while Alexys cried for him to stop. They eyed the threat cautiously while Alex did his best to grip the vibrating knife without letting go. He felt it pulse in his hand in such a manner that he let go and as he did it twisted through the air and slammed into the hilt into the first man’s head. He immediately crumbled as the pocket knife bounced back and landed perfectly into Alex’s hand. He gasped in amazement but before he could make another move the other black-clad bodies grasped him by the shoulders and began pulling him away. Alexys cried, “ALE—”

Click.

She looked behind her.

The golden watch had opened.

She grabbed it from its place and threw it toward Alex’s empty hand. The compass seemed to navigate purposefully into it as if it had a mind of its own. Alex shook his head in confusion as he desperately tried to get back to Alexys. She shook her head and shouted for him to go. He tried to throw it back to her but in the process he accidently clicked the center dial.

Tears filled his eyes as he looked to his best, best friend.

And then he was gone.

The black-clad group suddenly shouted in surprise as the person they were holding vanished. They looked back to Alexys and lurched for her but as they did a loud shot gun sound made them hit the deck. Edward appeared and swung his shot gun like a bat, knocking most of them in the back of the head, when anyone sat up he simply whipped them with the barrel and climbed over to reach Alexys.

“It worked!” he exclaimed with the joy of a scientist.

“It did!” she looked to the bodies getting up off of the ground.

“Why didn’t you go?” Edward questioned.

“There wasn’t any time,” she frowned.

He placed his hand at the center where the watch had been resting on the table and when he did every hair on his arm stood up. Edward pulled back then grabbed her shoulders and looked at her with genuine love, “I look forward to meeting you the right way. But now I need you to try one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“May I see the golden watch?” she pulled it from her pocket and handed it to him.

He placed it at the center and spun his finger around it in a circle once. The thing popped open.

She gasped, “How did you kno—”

There was no time. Edward shot openly into the group of men as he shouted backward, “It’s not as strong as the first one! It won’t take you as far but it will get you out of here! Stay safe, Alexys Spellman! I will see you again!”

Alexys grabbed the golden compass and pressed the dial button.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three:

_December 24 th _

_Present_

Alex felt as though he were falling.

Every other time he had used the compass the only side effects were visual, audial, and lung related. Suddenly it was as if he were falling from the sky. He screamed with flailing limbs in anticipation for hitting the ground but nothing happened.

“Uh…Alex?”

His eyes flashed open to find Luke and Nick at his side.

“LUKE!” he reached his arms up for an embrace.

“Whoa, whoa!” both men stepped back.

He realized then he still had the pocket knife and the blade visible. Alex gasped, “I am so sorry. H-How do I put it away?”

Luke had a series of expressions pass over his features before wrapping his hands over Alex’s around the handle. The blade disappeared back inside the hilt immediately, “I can’t believe you had to use it.”

“It helped me,” Alex smiled softly.

When the blade was gone Luke wrapped his arms around Alex into the tightest embrace he had ever felt. It was literally impossible to breathe but it was welcome. He rested his head on the man’s chest and shut his eyes to feel the pleasure of the man’s strength.

“I’m sorry to interrupt but where’s Alexys?” Nick had a quiver in his voice.

Alex pulled back and shook his head. The past few moments replayed in his mind and he realized that Alexys remained at the grips of danger, “She…she’s stuck back in 1971.”

“1971?” both men furrowed their brows, “What is she doing there?”

“We got stuck in 1941 and found Daleks putting a large metal coil under the ground of this building. We were able to use it to get ahead a few decades but were left in 1971. We met Alexys’ father and he helped get this to work but then we were attacked. She…she threw the compass at me,” he looked at the broken golden watch in his hands.

There was no way for him to get back to her.

Nick let out a shaking breath as he lifted his head to the sky. Alex stepped toward him, “I am so sorry. I don’t…I didn’t have time. I didn’t know what she was doing.”

“You were being attacked?” he looked at him, “By what?”

“The Church of Stillhet. Zelda and Hilda brought them to the house and Edward tried to fight them off but it was too late. They grabbed me and were pulling me away and then she threw this at me and now I’m…” Alex realized Luke was touching him the entire time. A brief smile fell upon his lips as he looked to the man that brought him comfort, “I don’t know what happened to her.”

His knuckles were white from how tight he squeezed his fists.

Luke turned Alex toward him pressed deep kisses all over his face, “I was so terrified for you. You were gone for so long. I thought…I didn’t know what could have happened. Alex, I love you so much. Look at your glasses.”

“My…” Alex suddenly focused on them and saw that they were broken. He pulled them off and placed them into his pocket which he quickly checked. He found he had his phone, Alexys’ phone, the velvet sack that had the fob watches, and the pocket knife.

“I told her to stay out of it,” Nick muttered to himself as he looked upward. The light of the moon casted enough of a glow on his face to show tears that he knew would capture Alexys’ heart.

Alex was not sold by it but kept his reservations to himself because Nick treated her so well. He looked around and realized he had no clue where they were. It appeared they were in some sort of dungeon. As he looked to the door it suddenly became clear it _was_ in fact a dungeon and seemed to be the exact one from the Academy of Unseen Arts.

“We’re under the Greendale Air Conditioning Repair School,” Luke answered Alex’s unasked question.

“Where are River and Clara?”

“We don’t know. They separated us after you and Alexys disappeared,” Luke continued to caress Alex’s face.

Alex looked at him with softness but realized how…lived in he looked. He stepped back to see both Luke and Nick wore the same clothes but they were clearly messier, dirtier, ripped in many places. There was soot and dirt over their features. Alex felt fear as he looked between them, “What day is it? How long have we been away?”

“It’s the 24th…you’ve been away for two weeks.”

He felt overcome with sadness as he wrapped his arms around Luke with all of his strength. They had been trapped for two weeks at the hands of Daleks and Silents. To make things worse, he had returned empty handed. 

Luke sunk into the hold and returned it with the fierceness Alex had faced when he had first arrived. When he finally pulled back he looked at Luke, “Who is out there keeping guard?”

“No one is out there,” Nick finally looked back to the couple, “They’re in here.”

Alex finally looked to the corner of the dungeon he had been purposefully ignoring. He jumped at the sight of the Silent but suddenly anger burned through him as he recalled what one of them had done to his best friend. The anger burned brighter at the understanding the Silent kept the love of his life and Nick trapped in a dungeon for two weeks. The anger burned _even_ brighter when he looked upon the creature that stole River Song’s life away in an attempt to kill the Doctor.

“YOU,” Alex was smoldering.

“Alex,” Luke was at his side, “What are you doing?”

Alex stepped toward the Silent, “What is your purpose here?”

The Silent lifted its hand as if in a threat.

“I’m not afraid of you,” Alex snapped, “Tell me. What is your purpose here and I will help you to complete it.”

_“Our purpose is to ensure that silence will fall when the question is asked_.”

“To stop what happens at Trenzalore.”

The lifeless eyes of the creature had a spark of surprise to the name.

“Are you the Silents that blew up the Tardis? Or the ones who kidnapped River Song?”

_“What knowledge do you have of these events?”_

“Knowledge that they failed,” Alex felt as if he were on fire, “Your mission is to destroy the Doctor so that silence will fall when the question is asked. Why?”

_“To ensure the safety of the universe.”_

“Then why are you teaming up with Daleks?”

The Silent said nothing.

“I understand what the Daleks offer to this situation. We went back in time and saw the Daleks build the school. We know Father Blackwood established the Church. We know the watches lured the Doctor here. What do you have to do with any of this?”

_“Suggestion,”_ it answered.

“But you are not the Church of Suggestion. You are the Church of Silence. Why go through this to destroy the Doctor unless you are not only here to destroy the Doctor. Are you here to unleash the Beast?”

_“We have tried all possibility to destroy the Doctor. He will be the end of the Universe. The Beast shall seal the cracks so that Gallifrey will be lost forever.”_

“You think the Beast will save the universe?”

It said nothing.

“That is fine but don’t you know…? The Daleks plan to destroy the Beast.”

The Silent was still as a stone.

“I have proof!” Alex pulled forward Alexys’ phone and pulled up the voice memo.

_“WE ARE LYING IN WAIT WHILE WE CARRY OUT OUR OWN AGENDA.”_

_“Is it to release the Beast so that it can swallow the void and become the universe?”_

_“IT IS TO DESTROY THE BEAST SO THAT WE MAY CONQUER THE UNIVERSE AS THE SUPERIOR RACE ONCE AND FOR ALL.”_

The Silent looked to Alex as if it would attack but then disappeared.

Alex let out a breath before looking to the two men with him. Luke furrowed his brows, “Where did you get that?”

“That’s Alexys’ voice,” Nick whispered as he reached for the phone, “May I?”

Alex played the voice memo over for him so that he could hear her again. He watched Luke’s face as he listened to the words, “You Spellmans sure know how to talk your way into danger. What was that with the Silent there?”

“I’m fed up, Luke. I want this to end and I want it to end now.”

“ _YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED_.”

Alex truly jumped at the sound of the Dalek outside of the dungeon door. Immediately he felt Luke’s arms around him. Nick stepped toward the door, “We can’t open the door. The Silent that was here to watch us left.”

“ _WHERE HAS IT GONE?_ ”

“We don’t know.”

The door opened to reveal the lone Dalek. Alex felt the eye of the warrior upon him and shivered under the pressure despite Luke’s strong hold. He wondered how he had stood in front of the Daleks seventy-nine years ago. It was because Alexys was there to challenge them under the blue eye but with her absence it was clear he was the forefront. Even with Nick and Luke standing strong it was clear the eye was on him.

“I know where it went,” Alex suddenly spit the words out despite feeling that signature family stomach trouble.

“ _WHERE HAS IT GONE?_ ”

“It said it was a far superior race to the Daleks and needed to prepare for the arrival of the Beast,” Alex spat the answer out before his bile could suffocate him.

The Dalek paused as if sending the information along the pathweb that connected all the Daleks. It looked Alex up and down before moving backward to create space in the door, “ _YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED_.”

Alex, Luke, and Nick shuffled out of the dungeon into the hallway before the Dalek. Luke kept his arm protectively around Alex while Nick kept his head hung low in a disheveled manner. Alex felt his heart beating with each step but he knew he had to do something.

“The Silents know about your plan to defeat the Beast,” Alex forced himself to have strength in his voice despite his fear.

“Alex,” Luke warned.

“ _HOW WOULD THE SILENTS KNOW SUCH DETAILS_?”

Alex paused to look behind it, “Because I told them.”

The Dalek made a sound of distaste but continued forward, “ _SILENCE_.”

Alex opened his mouth but Luke kept a firm grip on his arm to keep him quiet. He let the breath out of his nose and sunk into Luke’s hold. He had done his best to plant seeds of discord but it was left to the creatures involved to take a stance. They took their steps forward in the silence the Dalek desired. Alex wondered where they were going but the answer came sooner than he anticipated.

They were lead up ramps and hallways until they found themselves stepping out onto the checkered floor they had first been brought to. The checkered floor, the stage with the table and the boxes, the sign that read Dårlig Ulvkammer still remained. The only difference was that Father Blackwood was front and center.

“The Watchers,” Father Blackwood boomed as he motioned toward Alex, “Oh…has Alexys not made it back from your little trip through time? I have word she made quite an impression in the life of your Aunts.”

“What did you do with her?” Nick snapped angrily.

“Oh, Alexys is trapped in the past. Whatever happens to the poor girl is beyond my hold,” he smirked as he made a show of spirit fingers to them. “But I digress. I’ve brought you here for a reason.”

He made a circular motion with his hand and as he did the sound of struggling bodies came forward. They looked upward to see people wearing black bringing forward Clara and River. The two looked in better shape than Nick and Luke which lead Alex to believe that the two men put up some fight in order to be guarded by the Silent while the two women played nice to only be guarded by the Church members. Alex found it strange to see them being moved when he imagined Clara and River as a team would take over the world. Clara scanned the room and the balconies but River’s eyes landed on him immediately.

“Welcome, ladies. I have heard glowing reviews about your patience,” Father Blackwood did a show of giving a bow to them. “I have news for all of you that I believe you will appreciate.”

“What is that?” Clara asked.

“We have found your Doctors.”

It felt as if the air from the room had vanished. More sounds of struggling arrived until suddenly five bodies were pushed forward onto a balcony opposite of Clara and River. It was clear as day: Professor Smith, Professor Schmidt, Professor Smythe, and James Robert McCrimmon. A shorter blonde popped up between them as Rose Tyler. They all looked human and terrified.

“I wish only that Alexys were here so that I could thank her for her help. If it weren’t for her diligent note taking we would have never uncovered your true identities,” he smirked.

“What are you talking about? Have you all gone off the acid?” Professor Smith snapped, snatching his arm away from one of the Church of Stillhet members.

“I believe we are in the midst of a performance art piece,” Professor Schmidt spoke with terrified puppy eyes until they landed on Clara, “Why is she here? She’s got nothing to do with this! Unless…Clarissa? Are you an _actor_?”

“No, you moron! We’re kidnapped. Let the ladies go. Whatever you need from us get them out of here. I don’t know what they did to connect them to us but at least let Briar out!” James Robert McCrimmon snapped in his American accent, “All she did was show me around the town!”

“Well, we know that’s not _all_ she’s done,” Father Blackwood smirked, “I’m afraid these women have been your handlers. I believe they, down there, are the Watchers. I believe that gentleman and the missing woman have been the keepers of your essence. And now I believe it is time to admit you are defeated.”

“What are you talking about?” the four men spoke in various degrees of shock.

“Where is Alexys?” Professor Smythe looked down to Alex.

“You don’t have to worry about where _my_ girlfriend is,” Nick snapped angrily.

“Would you look at the tension here,” Father Blackwood was delighted, “You could cut it with a knife. Such a shame the poor girl will never return. We have people narrowing down her body now. In a few short moments we’ll have secured a safe place for the fob watches to stay through the years and one of my trusted members will retrieve it…Probably your Aunt.”

“I don’t understand what is happening?” Professor Smith shook his head as he looked around with the confusion of an older man.

“Professor Smith,” the voice belonged to River, “Just calm down. I will find a way to get you out of this.”

“Oh, I know you,” he smiled warmly, “You work at the library, don’t you?”

“I do,” she looked to him with soft eyes.

“What is happening here? Why are we all surrounded? Is this really performance art?”

She shook her head sadly, “We are in danger.”

“Oh…how unfortunate.”

“Why are they here?” Alex asked, “You said you need the essence of the Doctor. They don’t have it. They’re only human!”

“It is necessary for the Doctor to be present when the Beast emerges. It is part of the prophecy. It is time for the prophecy to come to fruition!” Father Blackwood stepped backward to the curtain and threw it back to reveal a massive crack along the wall.

_“The time is never.”_

In front of the stage Father Blackwood stood upon appeared rows and rows of Silents. The Professors, the weather man, and Rose Tyler gasped in horror at the creatures that appeared. River and Clara jumped back against the members that stood behind them. Luke’s grip on Alex tightened as he and Nick pulled him back toward the furthest wall. No one there had ever seen so many together in one instance except for Alex.

Together the Silents stood with their arms outstretched as a current of electricity filtered from one to the other. It seemed to grow stronger as they looked to Father Blackwood but Alex could see nothing but their backs. He looked specifically to River Song for reaction. He knew of all the people in the room she was the only person to have firsthand experience with them. Her face remained calm but her widening eyes betrayed her. The only thing Alex could do was be thankful Alexys was not present.

“What is the meaning of this, gentlemen?” Father Blackwood kept his grip on the curtain as the crack pulsed.

_“The Daleks wish to destroy the Beast and the Universe with it. Our mission is to stop the Doctor to save the Universe. You are allies with the enemies.”_

“We have no understanding of this. Our mission has been and will always be to serve the Beast. We are no friend to enemies of the Beast,” Father Blackwood shook his head as he stepped forward.

“ _AND WE ARE NO ALLIES TO ANY ONE BUT DALEKS_.”

A procession of Daleks filed in behind the Silents.

The Silents turned around to look at them.

Alex looked to all the faces and found they shared the same expression of terror. Rose Tyler shook violently. Alex felt an immediate desire to run and protect her but Luke held him back yet again. They locked eyes and shared the same sentiment.

“ _WE MADE OUR DEALINGS WITH THE SOURCE FOR THE COMMON GOAL TO DESTROY THE DOCTOR AND BECOME THE MASTER RACE ONCE AND FOR ALL_.”

_“You shall not destroy the universe in the process.”_

“ _HOW DO YOU PLAN TO STOP US_?”

_“With force.”_

_December 24 th, 1994_

Alexys opened her eyes to find herself alone.

A yawn escaped her as she lifted herself up. She had been sleeping on a hard wood floor she knew left an imprint on her face. Her stiff arms loosened as she stretched and catalogued her surroundings. Alexys was surprised to see she was in a round room with no doors and only one window. She stood up on wobbly knees to check her pockets.

She still had the blue velvet bag with the fob watches that contained the Doctors essence. In her hand was the compass. What was missing was her cell phone but she imagined it was back in 1971. Wherever it was she knew it would be in good hands. She imagined Edward Spellman having a field day with it.

Alexys walked to the window with a sense of dread. She had no clue what had happened to the man that was meant to be her father. He had been so kind, so trusting, so helpful. He made sure she was safe while he remained in peril. She wondered if he had made it out in time or if he had succumbed to the Church of Stillhet.

The sound of a flag hitting a pole brought her attention back to where she was.

She could see it was night time and outside the flag carried the signature Greendale Community College flag. E Plurbis Anus flapped in the breeze while a street light casted a harsh glow over the parking lot. Alexys couldn’t tell where she was but she knew it was on familiar ground. All she needed to do was find a way out.

BANG BANG. BANG. BANG.

Alexys looked to the ceiling in surprise and suddenly found a square that looked much like an attic door with no hanging string.

BANG BANG. BANG. BANG.

“Are you awake yet, dear?”

It was unmistakably Zelda’s voice.

“You have been sleeping for far too long.”

“I’m awake, Auntie!” Alexys called out. Her eyes remained upward on the square in search of a way to get it open. The biggest problem was that the room she stood in was completely bare and the only exit was far too high for her to reach.

“We have much to discuss. You have been missing in time for a while. We did not expect for you to return alive.”

“Thanks for the uh…confidence, Aunt Zelda,” Alexys looked back to the window and tried to push it up.

“What was it like lost in the time vortex?” the ceiling above Alexys began to creek which meant Zelda had begun walking around.

“What do you mean? I was with Edward and then I was here. I don’t really remember being lost,” Alexys answered honestly, trying to pry open the locks over the window that had been painted closed.

“It was not that simple. The process of time travel was explained to me through the powerful source. The device you have been using allows one to enter back into their own time stream. This allows the individual to remain tethered to the Earth. You and your cousin went beyond your time stream. Edward was able to assist Alexander back to his present yet you, dear child, remained… _untethered_.”

Alexys noticed that Zelda was walking in clockwise circles as she spoke. The compass in her hand began to vibrate a near imperceptible tremor as she did. Alexys thought back to Father Blackwood and the dance and the motion of bodies in circles and realized such motions must call upon the compass. It seemed to her that whatever suggestion the Silents put upon the members of Stillhet made them act on a compulsion to act out the language of the Doctor. She realized she could use it to her advantage.

“It took us quite some time to get you back to this realm. We used Edward to build a room that would draw upon the innate magnetism in your compass. He finished it years ago and yet you arrive this evening. I wonder the significance,” she mused. 

“What is the date?” Alexys began walking in the same direction as she heard Zelda walking but found the vibration to grow lighter.

“It is Christmas Eve of 1994,” Zelda answered.

“It’s about to be my first Christmas. Why aren’t you with me and Edward and my mother? What are you doing here? Trapping your only niece?” Alexys began to walk counterclockwise.

“I have relinquished such attachments,” she sighed, “They are quite useless in comparison to what the Beast shall offer us.”

“Oh, right. The Beast. And what will the Beast do again?”

Alexys mouthed the words as Zelda spoke them, “The Beast will follow the fissures, come through the cracks, swallow the void, and become the Universe.”

“And that is…a good thing?” Alexys wondered. She hid her delight at the increasing motion from the compass in her left hand.

“That is the only thing. The Beast will right all that has been wrong with the Universe since its inception. The Beast will create order where there is chaos and will be the ultimate savior,” she answered.

“And why isn’t the Beast here already?”

“The Beast requires sacrifice, of course,” Zelda seemed to pause and then turn around to walk counterclockwise.

Alexys reversed her own movement, “The essence of the Doctor.”

“Yes, exactly.”

“And who told you all this? How did Father Blackwood come to be so powerful?” it was a genuine question Alexys had.

“Powerful?” she let out a laugh, “Father Blackwood is merely an instrument.”

“An instrument of the Beast?”

“An instrument of the source.”

Alexys had heard that word before, “The source? Of what?”

“The source of the prophecy,” Zelda let out a sigh as if she were discussing a lover.

“So this isn’t an ancient prophecy from thousands of years ago. This is a new one?” Alexys had become genuinely curious.

“Not new…just…unparalleled.”

“Okay, you’ve got my interest…” a jump in the compass caused Alexys to look up and she realized it occurred when she and Zelda passed each other on the same step.

“The source is from another universe and has created a link with a member of our community. Father Blackwood has been carrying out every order of the source so that we may pass the source into our universe,” Zelda seemed to thoroughly enjoy speaking about what she learned.

“And the source is not the Beast?”

“No, she is the only one that knows how to release the Beast,” there seemed to be a shiver that fell through each word. Alexys made a note that Zelda said “she.”

“I still don’t get what me, Alex, and the Doctor have to do with it?”

“The essence of the Doctor is needed for the Beast. The Watchers are said to be the only thing able to stop the Beast. Therefore we must destroy you all,” there was a smile in Zelda’s voice that frightened Alexys.

“And how do you mean to destroy me and Alex?” the compass was vibrating stronger and stronger.

“Exactly as we have it here. Separating the both of you drastically weakens your abilities. We intend to leave you here in deprivation until you have expired. Then we will retrieve the essence of the Doctor from you and store it in a safe location for our future selves. It is rather quite simple.”

The two passed each other in sync again.

Click.

“Zelda, I don’t know about that.”

WAP.

Alexys had pushed the dial backward a five minutes and when she did she found herself in the astronomy room that she had kissed Professor Smythe in. It was different, of course, but it was out of the round room and it was away from Zelda. From out in the hall she heard screaming and so she dropped down behind the door. Someone pushed the door open to check the room but all they saw was emptiness. The door closed and footsteps rushed further down the way.

She let out a breath as she looked to the compass. It was open yet it could not move any further than where it was. Alexys did not want to go backward in time. She knew she _needed_ to go forward so that she could give the new information she gathered to Clara and River and Rose Tyler. She twisted the dial as hard as she possibly could and yet nothing happened.

Her mind raced with images of Alex and Nick and Luke and the Doctors and Rose and Clara and River and her family at home so far away from the situation. She knew she had to return to them. Memories of beautiful things played across her vision as if in there she might find an answer to her problem. The only thing she found was a reminder of all she had to lose.

_“Watcher.”_

Alexys heard the voice at her right but did nothing to identify it. Her eyes remained fixed on the spot between the floor and the wall she had focused on when thinking. She felt it strongly in her bones that if she did not move, did not speak, did not make any motion of recognition then the sound would disappear. Her limbs seemed to petrify in their solid stance so that she had no temptation to move. Not even a fly could force her to even if it landed right on her eyelash.

_“Watcher.”_

The hairs on her arms stood on all ends as if something were merely centimeters away. The center of her chest began to throb as the air shifted with static being pulled from between atoms. She felt her heart constrict in that familiar way that made tears fall from her eyes. A bright purple light began to form and as it did she lifted her arm to shield herself—

The ring.

The very ring that had been given to her at the Sapphire Waterfalls of Midnight.

The Doctor had pulled it from his pocket, she recalled, wiped off some lint and then placed it around her finger. Her mind drifted back to the memory of herself and Professor Smythe in the Dean’s office. He had said _: “This kind of ring just might come in handy more than you think.”_

Her thoughts flashed in the blink of an eye. She thought back to every incident that had occurred since her very first meeting with the Doctor. Everything that could be done she did on the left side. Every time she held the compass it was with her left hand and she spun it with her right. She had never put any thought in the ring the Doctor gave her. She had never held the compass in her right hand as a base. She had never let the two touch.

Alexys dropped to the ground just as a burst of electricity coursed to the place where her chest had been and in the same instance she threw the compass to her right hand. The compass and the ring clinked together with a force that made her arm tremor. She could feel the power surging from the ring into the device and as it did she watched a cloud of invisibility climb up her arm and up her body. She screamed in terror as her body shook and when she looked up she watched the Silent prepare for another stri—

_Present_

_December 24 th, 2020_

Alexys materialized in the face of a sea of Silents.

She opened her mouth to scream but strong arms grasped her in an embrace so tight it smothered the air in her lungs. When she pulled back it was Nick’s face that greeted her as he spoke devotionals against her ear. Another hand began tapping her and she turned behind to see Alex. She immediately opened her arms for him but he pointed forward.

Again she saw the sea of Silents but when she looked lower they were before a line of Daleks.

“ _HOW DO YOU PLAN TO STOP US_?”

_“With force.”_

Nick held Alexys just as Luke held Alex and they watched with horror as the Silents began to swell with the power they consumed from the ai—

WOOOSH. WOOSH. WOOSH.

The Silents collapsed without a sound.

Every person in the room stared in horror at the effortless way the Daleks destroyed them. Alexys let out a breath, “On the bright side…I am no longer terrified of Silents. On the dark side…I think we should run!”

The four turned to the nearest exit and sprinted out the door.

“Where were you!” Alex shouted at Alexys as they ran with all their might.

“I took the long way ‘round!” Alexys made the joke but in the heat of the moment knew it wouldn’t land.

She felt herself tiring but Nick’s grip on her palm pulled her forward, “Come on! I think I know a—”

“Hey! Stop right there!”

They looked to see members of the Church of Stillhet running after them.

Nick looked let go of Alexys’ hand as he shouted, “Keep going! I’ll distract them!”

“No!” she slowed down to reach for him.

He grabbed a trashcan and swung it in time to smack into one of the men, sending him backward into the other. Nick looked at her with a grin, “I’ll be fine! I swear!”

Luke grabbed Alexys by the shoulder and pulled her with him, “Come on! He’ll be fine!”

Alexys felt tears sting her eyes but she believed in Nick. She followed Luke threw the hallways at a full sprint. He held onto Alex’s hand who held onto Alexys’ arm in an effort to keep them all moving. Alex felt his legs going weak and Alexys felt her lungs giving up but they pushed through until they saw, “A door!”

The exit was on the side of the building with two double doors that had to be pressed in to open. Such things had never looked so beautiful. Luke ran ahead to test that they were unlocked. He gave a light push and they swung briefly outward. Alex looked to Alexys, unable to verbalize his guilt for leaving everyone else behind as they made their escape. She tried her best to give him an expression that clarified based on recent news she understood it was safer to leave with the fob watches than stay.

To Alex it simply looked like she was on the verge of…using the bathroom.

When Alex and Alexys reached Luke they worked together to push the doors ope—

“ _YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED._ ”

A scream came from Alex and Alexys that nearly made the Dalek jump.

The Dalek pointed its gunstick at the three of them and they lifted their hands in defeat.

It was a slow stumble back to the room with the checkered floor. When they entered, the Daleks and Father Blackwood seemed to be in the midst of a parley. In the face of the Daleks he looked calm thanks to the large crack behind him. Professor Wardwell had suddenly arrived but she was held by one of the black-clad members of the Church. She looked to be entirely bored.

Alex looked upward to see the Doctors and Rose Tyler being held by members of the Church of Stillhet with increased force. River and Clara still only had the same two guards but their hold on them had tightened. The Dalek guided the three to the center of the room just behind the line of Daleks and the dead Silents on the ground. Luke kept a firm grip on Alex’s arm, standing slightly in front of him as if he could make a difference between the rows of the warrior race.

Alexys for the first time made a note of her surroundings. Her eyes locked onto Professor Smythe who offered a gentle smile despite the distressing circumstance. It filled her with a gentle warmth.

“Despite what has occurred I believe we are still on the same side. You have spoken with the source and have aided her in acquiring what she needs to release the Beast. I believe you fear her too much to deny her just as I do. We maintain our common goal. The Doctors are yours to do with what you like. I only wish to hold onto the Watchers.”

The Daleks were silent as if speaking to one another. Finally the leader spoke, “ _WE WILL EXTERMINATE THE WATCHERS AND THE DOCTOR ALL THE SAME._ ”

Father Blackwood seemed to be weighing his options. He let out a sigh, “Fine. Alex, Alexys, empty your pockets and step forwa—”

“NO!”

All eyes jumped to one of the open balconies. Alexys gasped to see Nick standing with a gunstick that looked as though it had just been ripped from a Dalek. It appeared as though he had fought off many beings to get to where he was and held his weapon pointed at Father Blackwood.

“I will not let you—”

“ _ENOUGH_.”

Nick froze in his action as if he had been zapped by something painful. The weapon fell from his hands and clattered to the checkered floor. Across his features thundered the expression of absolute agony.

Alexys leapt forward, “Nick!”

Alex grabbed her and kept her in place.

They watched in horror as Nick began to spasm until his hands lashed out to grab hold of the railing on the balcony. He lurched forward, mouth agape, as if he were about to purge. His whole body shook as _WHHHHHHRRRRRR_ from his forehead emerged a blue eyestalk.

Alexys screamed in absolute horror, “NOOO!!!!”


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Alex grabbed onto Alexys, helping her to stand straight when her knees had crumbled beneath her. Both blinked rapidly as if it would awaken them from a horrible nightmare but the blinking only confirmed their reality. Nick was a Dalek puppet.

The only question that came next was how long.

“Alex, I—”

_WHHHHHHR._

Once again there had been that nearly vomiting expression and then it appeared from Luke’s forehead beside them. The two jumped away from him as they gazed upon their loves. They suddenly recalled the dream Alexys had and wished feverishly that the two _were_ only Zygons. To be Dalek puppets was so much worse. They gripped onto each other as hot tears fell down their face.

“How could you!” Alexys cried out to the Daleks.

It was a collective heartbreak between the Alex and Alexys that silenced the noise of the Professors shouting and River Song talking and Clara Oswald threatening and Daleks replying and Father Blackwood laughing. Alex looked to Luke beside them feeling completely gutted. The blue eye remained on Alex while his gentle blue eyes were glazed over as he looked at the center of his forehead with the expression that he too was in shock. His mouth hung open while his limbs were frozen in a half reach toward him. He seemed to be a robot that had been put on pause and it was terrifying.

Alexys was full sobbing as she looked to Nick up on the balcony. Since she had met Nick she had been going back and forth between him and the Ninth Doctor but seeing him in that way…seeing him gone? It made her feelings absolutely clear.

She let out a choked cry as her hand reached up toward him, “Nicholas…please? I love you…”

Even from the distance Alexys watched a flicker of light spark across his eyes. The man began to move into motion as if the mechanics in his body were brought to life. A wicked smirk crossed his features as he stared upward at the eyestalk.

“Nick?” she whispered the words.

“Hold…” the eyestalk grew further out of his forehead, “…that,” his hands shook as his arms stretched out before him and Alex gasped to see Luke following the same motion, “…thought!”

The two men snapped their attention to Father Blackwood and as they did all the Daleks pointed toward him and fired. Professor Wardwell dropped down in time to evade the shot but Father Blackwell and the servants of the Church of Stillhet were not so lucky. Alex and Alexys gasped with joy at the sight of the two men fighting the Dalek weaponry inside of them. They looked to each other and pressed their hands to their chest and their palms to one another for their handshake.

Tap tap.

A sudden and strange buzzing sound resonated off the walls and just when the buzzing could not get any louder there was noise.

BOOM!

From the center of Nick and Luke’s chest exploded a brilliant light that knocked everyone backward onto the ground except for Alex and Alexys. The only other beings still standing were the Daleks but they had clearly been turned off. Alex and Alexys blinked as they watched what looked like a mushroom cloud of kaleidoscope colors shimmer from the ceiling toward the ground. Sparkling, twinkling, golden, silver, blue, pink, yellow, purple, green, rainbow light was all anyone could see as if a firework had gone off at the center of the massive room. Alex and Alexys looked to where their respective partners had been but they were gone and in their place was a metal skeleton with a blue eyestalk staring downward at the Daleks.

Their eyes scanned the room for the men but suddenly the brilliant cloud of colors began to congregate before them in two cylinders of light. Alex and Alexys held each other’s arms as they watched the air before them begin to condense into a whisper of an outline of Nick and Luke. Once again they blinked in the hopes of better understanding what they witnessed.

Once again the blinking did not help.

“What is…”

“…going on?”

Alex and Alexys spoke in unison.

The outlines of the men seemed to solidify as if made of crystal in the same shimmering colors of what had exploded into the room. Though it appeared their mouths had become solid enough to speak it did not move. Instead it came out across the minds of all present together with a chorus of voices that seemed to be gathered throughout all of time and history. Even in the minds it made the whole room shiver.

“Alexander and Alexys. We offer our humblest apologies for our deception. We are not the human beings known as Nicholas Scratch or Lucas Chalfant. We are not humans, we are not beings, and we are not of this universe.”

Alex and Alexys held their breath. Across their mind went a collection of heartbreaking possibilities that had no words, only emotion and possibility. They thought of the dream Alexys had and it devastated them.

“Incorrect.”

“What?” the word fell out of Alex’s mouth like a stone.

“Your assumption is incorrect. We did not use you because of Greendale or the Doctor. We used Greendale and the Doctor because of you.”

“What do you mea…?”

“I think I can offer some explanation,” came the voice of River Song. 

Somewhere in the mess Clara and River Song had come down from their balcony. Alex and Alexys looked up to find the Professors and Rose Tyler but it seemed they were on the move too. River and Clara stepped to Alex and Alexys but before they could get any closer an invisible barrier prevented them from touching the two.

The aliens known as Nick and Luke spoke in unison, “The threat has yet to be contained. No harm shall come to Alex and Alexys.”

“Easy boys, we mean no harm,” Clara smirked.

It was then that Alex and Alexys realized they held their own gunsticks. River lowered hers before continuing to speak, “I noticed early on that your partners had an uncanny ability to show up when you were in the most danger, to prevent you from following through on plans that would no doubt get you killed, and to find inventive ways to keep the Silents away.”

“Turns out the scary monsters are a bit old fashioned,” Clara smirked, “Bit prudish if you ask me.”

Alexys felt her face grow incredibly hot while Alex continued to have a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“As soon as they were on my radar I searched for their species in every database, every ancient book, every old memory stashed away on the Tardis but found nothing. It wasn’t until I got a chance to really look at them that I realized what they were,” she pointed to her Eye Drive, “All the Artron energy was a dead giveaway yet their physical form was so substantial I almost doubted myself.”

“Okay…what are they?” Alex urged.

“They are known by many names. Knights of the Time Winds, Keepers of No-Space, Masters of No-Time and when all of that gets to be a handful they are known as…”

“The Watchers.”

Alex and Alexys gasped.

“We are protectors of the Time Vortex. Our sole purpose is to maintain equilibrium throughout the Vortex so as to protect all universes from destruction. We are the fabric that holds space and time together as one. We are all as one.”

“Allow me to keep explaining,” River smiled warmly, “They are an energy class race with no physical form. They operate as a single consciousness and communicate telepathically.” 

“Wait…so…” Alexys couldn’t even finish her thoughts.

“Incorrect,” they spoke.

“What do you mean?” Alexys found herself growing more desperate for answers.

“River Song is correct. The Watchers operate as a single consciousness yet it is far more complex. Imagine the tapestry of time and space as one imagine. We are all separate threads working in unison to achieve the same goal. But we have—”

They began to change color, size, shape until suddenly they dropped from their hovering cloud stance in the physical forms that Alex and Alexys had grown to love. Luke reached for Alex and cupped his face tenderly, “We have changed.”

“Being with you has changed us,” Nick continued, reaching for Alexys’ hands between both of his.

“But how? Where did you come from? How did you even see us?” Alex felt his mind swimming with questions.

“We have been seeking an end to the cracks. Our own means have done nothing to close them and so we have separated through every opening in search of an answer. We followed the Doctor into your universe where we observed you from a far.”

“We separated as you both separated naturally on your own adventures. We observed you and the Doctor from a distance with the single goal of uncovering the truth of the cracks.”

“But that began to change.”

Luke held onto Alex’s face with such desperation Alex was almost sure he could taste it, “We are entirely telepathic, Alexander, which means from the moment I first observed you I have heard every thought you have and ever did have. I intended to keep you at a distance but the more I heard of your mind the more enchanted I became. We feel the emotions of the universe, we see the choices, we share every experience and yet…and yet when I fell into your mind I became lost. I tasted your pain, I heard your cries, I felt your deepest heartbreak and I watched you time and time again show kindness and love for others when you had none left for yourself. Over and over I watched you give and give and work and work and try and try harder and harder until you were empty. We followed you here to Greendale and when the opportunity presented itself to be something physical with you _and_ protect you? I could not say no.”

“I fell for your strength,” Nick spoke to Alexys in soft whispers choked off by tears, “Your romanticism, your creativity, your sweetness and your hidden deviousness that you only allow the very lucky to see. I fell for your dreams and your wild imagination and your ability to see the good in everything no matter what. I fell for how many times you’ve been hurt for seeing only the good and how it still does not stop you from seeing just that.”

“For the first time in our history we have completely separated into our own beings,” Luke sighed as he looked back and forth between Alex and Alexys and Nick, “This is uncommon territory but it is territory we want to cross. Alex, you allowed me to try things and to be things and to experience things and you loved me. Each word in my direction chipped me away from the consciousness like a statue chipped away from a block of stone. I am a separate entity now with thoughts and feelings and sensations all my own.”

“Wait…,” Alexys frowned, recalling what Clara had explained, “So when we did stuff…you were only doing that to make the Silents go away?”

“Absolutely not! Though part of it was to make sure they did not continue watching you, it was our first time in physical bodies. Everything we did…everything I did—”

Luke agreed, “Everything I did.”

“—was purely out of love and desire to be one with you. Please, forgive us for our deception and know everything we did was to protect you and to preserve the uniqueness your affections have given us. We did not intend to fall in love but here we are…beyond that.”

Alex looked to Alexys who looked back to Alex who continued to look at Alexys.

Alexys let out a deep shaking breath, “I need to confer with my associate in privacy.”

“Of course.”

The force field that surrounded them lifted so that they could step away. Alexys pulled Alex to the side and began to whisper, “Honestly, I’m sold. I just want to play hard to get and make Nick sweat a little.”

“Honestly...I’m sold too,” Alex expressed the same level of joy. They paused with their hands extended in the form of their shake, “Incredibly attractive, telepathic space creatures that are in love with us?”

Tap tap.

“Incredibly attractive, telepathic space creatures that are in love with us _and_ protect us constantly?”

Tap tap.

“Incredibly attractive, telepathic space creatures that are in love with us and protect us constantly _and_ defeated the Daleks?”

Tap tap.

“Incredibly attractive, telepathic space creatures that are in love with us and protect us constantly and defeated the Daleks _and_ are amazing in bed?”

Tap tap.

A small cough came from the two men, “You know we can hear you, right?”

Alex and Alexys blushed wildly.

“Do you want to see another perk of forgiving us?” Luke questioned.

Alex and Alexys nodded their head.

“We can shift our shape.”

The two men exploded into clouds again but quickly took shape into two women…that looked exactly like Jenny from the League and Tahani Al-Jamil from the Good Place. 

Alex and Alexys screamed with joy as they looked to each other.

“Are we?”

“Yeah we are!”

The two completed their handshake once again—tap tap—but the excitement of the news took over them and they did again—tap tap—and the joy of everything coming together consumed them until they could not stop doing their handshake—tap tap—even when they wanted to—tap tap.

The Professors, the Weatherman, and Rose Tyler joined them in the room but Alex and Alexys could not greet them. Their loves returned to their first form but still it did not change a thing. They were caught in a cycle of their handshake. Hand tapping against chest tapping against palm.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

“You think this is over?” came the shaking voice of Professor Wardwell. She stood against the crack as she shouted, “This is all according to plan!”

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

“We can’t stop!” Alex shouted, feeling aching pain coursing through his forearms.

“Help!” Alexys cried out.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

The group split in half and grabbed hold of Alex and Alexys and tried to pull them apart but their hands were connected in an unshaking rhythm. Every time they had done their handshake played across their mind until each separate one formed an orchestra of horror. Together the four beats played again and again as they were locked in the continual cycle.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap.

“Your music shall call and I shall pull forward!” Professor Wardwell jammed her arm through the crack.

River ran toward the Professor, “Stop that! You’re killing yourself!”

Smoke lifted from the woman’s body as her skin began to burn, “The Beast will rise!”

Professor Wardwell pulled until suddenly an arm reached out of the crack from the other side. The Professor pulled and pulled until out came another arm and then a leg and then a body and then a whole entity. Professor Wardwell collapsed to the ground, gone, but in her place was a horrifying being of the same size and shape. 

“Did you miss me?”

It was Missy.

BLAST!  
Blinding light flashed across Alex and Alexys’ eyes and they collapsed for a moment into the arms of their friends.

“Sorry about the forced suggestion there. I needed something familiar to call me through to right moment,” Missy smirked as she fixed her dress and hair.

River took aim with the gunstick while Clara jumped into position to protect the Doctors and Rose. Luke and Nick stood with their hands extended toward the metal skeletons they left behind and those skeletons looked to the Daleks that suddenly came to life to point at Missy.

“Well, this certainly is not the warm welcome I was expecting.”

Luke and Nick stepped before Alex and Alexys while Clara and River stood before them. Rose Tyler stood before the Professors and the Weatherman. Every weapon aimed at Missy.

“I have to admit. I’m rather confused by your hostility.”

“What did you do to us!” Alex snapped, his arms still stinging from when they operated beyond his control.

“I did nothing. Just had some dear friends of mine use mild suggestion to amplify an already solid impulse,” she smiled.

“Are you the Beast?” Alexys questioned in amazement.

“I’m _a_ beast. Yes. Mostly I am _the_ master mind behind this realm that you have enjoyed so much,” she smirked. She took careful steps forward and it was only then that they realized the table still stood with the three boxes beneath a sheet.

“Don’t make another move,” River declared.

“River Song, after all that we have been through?” Missy frowned. “Well…I think you’ll find I have a way around this hostility.”

Missy snapped her fingers and from each doorway came the Church of Stillhet with knives at their own throat. Alexys gasped as she saw Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda at the forefront with smiles on their face. Alex tried to step toward them but Luke stopped him, “Aunties! What are you doing?”

“As I told Alexys before, the Beast needs a sacrifice and we shall be humble martyrs,” Zelda beamed.

“Zelda, this isn’t you,” Professor Smith sounded as though he were on the verge of tears.

“I think it’s quite best we let this all…sort itself out,” Professor Schmidt mumbled.

“Right, yes, Doctors. Or…not Doctors. It really is disappointing not to see that nasty scowl at the hands of defeat. Everything I say will just be gibberish to you. Might as well not even reveal my brilliant plan,” she pouted as if a child that had just been told she could not have a cookie before dinner.

“We’re all still ears,” Rose perked up.

Alex looked behind him, finally finding enough courage to make eye contact with her and when they did a wave of red washed over his features that made Alexys giggle despite the current circumstance.

“Is that Rose Tyler?” Missy questioned.

“Yeah, is me…”

She paused a moment in thought, “I thought you’d be taller…”

“Now you hold it there!”

“You bitch!”

“How dare you!”

“Leave her alone!”

River, Clara, Alex, and Alexys all spoke at once.

“Alright, alright, alright,” Missy waved away the shouting, “Drop your weapons or I’ll leave everything in a terrible mess.”

No one moved but Alex and Alexys shouted, “Do it! Drop them!”

Reluctantly the four that were armed lowered their aim.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Missy pointed behind them and when they looked Professor Smythe and the James Robert McCrimmon were attempting to sneak away. More members of Stillhet grasped each of them to keep them in place, “Where do you think you are going?”

“There has _clearly_ been a miss understanding,” the weather man spoke, “I’m not part of this. I’m not even British!”

“You lot are an integral part of my plan and even if you don’t remember who you are…I’d still like to gloat. Bring them closer!”

River, Clara, Luke, and Nick pointed their weapons at her again.

The citizens of Greendales pushed the points of their knives into their throat deep enough to have a blood flow. Alexys cried out, “Stop! Stop hurting them!”

“Why are you doing this!” Alex shouted.

Missy let out a little huff then motioned for something behind the curtain. A young man in black rushed forward with a stool that she promptly sat upon, “Well…it all began once upon a time on the small planet of Carnathon. A gentleman named Rafando sought to kill me however to activate the device that would carry out the means of death he needed another Time Lord.”

Alex and Alexys looked to each other as memories of the events unfolded in their mind.

“This is where you come in,” she shout-whispered to Professor Smith, “The goodie-good he is, the Doctor decided to spare my life and allow me to live the rest of my days. Happy ending correct?”

She did not wait for a reply.

“WRONG! I was trapped _inside a Vault_ meant to hold me for one thousand years. You can see how a girl can get a little,” she did an odd shake of her head, “Nutty. All I had to keep me entertained was a single piano and the c _onstant_ drabble of this man here. What’s your name, love?” 

“Professor Smith,” he whispered.

“PROFESSOR SMITH!” she cried out, “Hilarious. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. One thousand years I was meant to live out my days in absolute boredom until…”

Alex understood immediately, “You found a crack.” 

“I found a crack! Gold star for this one!” she clapped her hands excitedly.

“How did the crack not destroy you?” River questioned.

“It was a tiny, tiny thing really. At first, all I could do was listen. I heard voices that spun tales that kept me entertained for decades! It wasn’t until the crack widened just a fraction that I was able to see where I had been connected to. Can you guess?”

Alexys felt herself shaking with understanding, “The Land of Fiction.”

“Gold star for you too!” Missy squealed, “The Land of Fiction. You would be amazed how many worlds exist. Everything that had ever been written in novels, in comics, in screenplays, in the edges of notebooks! I began to find that I could whisper into it and as I whispered I could call upon images that I desired. I could watch Hercule Poirot have a tea party with Achilles, Elinor Dashwood, and Beowulf! It was incredible.”

She looked off into the distance with fond memories.

“But even that began to grow tiresome. I spoke into the crack ‘show me something I will _really_ enjoy’ and do you know what I found?” 

Alex and Alexys spoke in unison, “Professor Wardwell.”

Missy pointed at them with joyful pleasure, “I just love how interactive you both are.”

“I don’t get it still. Is everything here fake?” Alex wondered.

“I wouldn’t use the term fake. These are real beings that really exist with real emotion. If I were to kill them now they would be no more and everyone around would feel that loss. But are they susceptible to the _mildest_ for of persuasion? Yes,” she laughed, “Imagine my surprise to see my own eyes staring back at me. I could have kissed myself if I had been able to! Instead I made her queen. The only trouble was that I was limited with only speaking and hearing and seeing. The crack refused to grow. And just when I had given up hope…lovely Mary Wardwell reported something new in the Land of Fiction. Can you guess?”

River answered this time, “Another crack.”

“Yes, another crack. This one was much larger, much scarier, much easier to manipulate. I got to work. Being stuck in the Vault for so long gave me the time to imagine how I could get my greatest revenge and at the same time get my own freedom. I had the creatures here send out messages into the crack travelling far and wide. I had them shout into the universe a simple message: Doctor who?”

Alex and Alexys looked to each other. Alexys made the motion of her sucking on the hookah which looked far too suggestive in the atmosphere. She quickly returned to her attention to Missy.

“Immediately the Silents came. They were a bit tough to convince but once I informed them of my plan they were on board. Next came the Daleks which were _very_ easy to manipulate. I gave them secrets to Time Lord Technology and they crafted the devices that fell from the sky. I promised both these races the one thing they desired most—the death of the Doctor. The next part of the plan was rather tricky.”

She took to standing from the stool and began to pace.

“I had Mary Wardwell speak into the crack necessity of two beings both incredibly hopeful and incredibly hopeless. I needed two beings that were simultaneously at their weakest and their strongest. I needed two beings that had reached incredible highs and incredible lows. I needed to creatures that had walked both through heaven and hell—two creatures that had lived through death. That was when the universes brought me both of you.”

Alex felt his chest sink in at the words. Alexys held in a shaky breath.

“Enough of this,” Luke began but Alex gripped his arm to listen.

“What did you need with us?” Alex felt his curiosity pull him though the memory of the events that had nearly taken their lives was clear in his mind.

“I needed you for multiple reasons. Your presence in the universe is very significant. Your attempted death left an echo throughout the time vortex and so the choices you make echo throughout it as well. I needed you both to be a beacon for me when I eventually fit through the crack and could travel here. Your handshake tappy tap resounded throughout the Land of Fiction and grew the cracks tenfold. I simply had to wait and use the Silent to imprint a suggestion…a beat for you to play at the right time so that I could follow the sound to the here and now. Beyond that you two were bait, of course. How could the Doctor resist either of you?” she let out a warm sigh, “How could anyone resist either of you?”

“But the Doctor said we had met before!” Alexys shouted.

“Oh, this is where I really shine. You lead me to this,” she grasped the edge of the sheet over the table and pulled it to reveal three boxes, “I had the Daleks and the Silents work together to steal the greatest treasures of the Time Lords. Of course they found them in the junkyard of Gallifrey but I talked them through a few tinkers. Does anyone recognize this?”

“Paradox Box,” River, Luke, and Nick spoke in sync.

“Yes, I’ve had this beauty running since the Daleks signed on board” she grinned, “And if you look here…”

“The Neverwhen,” they spoke in sync again.

“And last but not least…”

This time Clara was the one to answer, “The Moment.”

Alex and Alexys looked to each other with shock at the mention of the Moment. But Alex had his questions, “What is the Neverwhen?”

“It’s a terrifying piece of Time Lord Technology. The Neverwhen is a weapon that creates a place outside of time and space. It is why no one is able to leave Greendale,” River looked behind at the Professors and the weatherman with concern.

“This must all be some sort of joke. None of this can be real!” Professor Smythe shouted.

“Oh, this is very real. And the best part is?” the members of Stillhet that held onto the Doctor pressed blades against their throats, “You four are here to witness everything!”

“I still don’t get it! You’re free now. What are you doing with the Moment? What do you need the essence of the Doctor for?” Alexys felt herself growing more anxious as she listened to the spiel. 

“This here is the charred remains of an old box used in an old timeline,” Missy motioned to the Moment that _did_ look battered and broken, “I need the essence of the Doctor to activate it and once I activate it? I’m throwing it into through the crack to destroy everything but us cradled in the safety of the Neverwhen.”

“That makes no sense! What purpose is there to destroy everything and keep us safe?” Rose Tyler questioned.

“Us? Oh no. _Me_. And possibly Alexander and Alexys. You…sadly remind me of the friendship I once shared with the man I intend to destroy,” Missy gazed at them longingly before jumping back into action, “My goal is simply as it always is and ever was. To be the Master. Well! Enough of that! Let us get to it!”

Members of the Church of Stillhet dropped their knives to grasp Alex and Alexys. The Daleks still under Luke and Nick’s control aimed at them with a furious gaze, “Don’t you dare touch them!”

“Ahh!” the Professors began to bleed as the men holding them pressed holes into the flesh of their throat.

“Stop!” Alexys cried out, seeing Professor Smythe in danger. The whole time she had been focused on Missy but seeing him so helpless broke her heart.

“You heard the woman,” Missy grinned.

Everyone lowered their weapons once again as the Church members dragged Alex and Alexys to the stage. Rough hands searched through their pockets until the velvet bags were pulled free. Missy walked to the edge of the stage and plucked them from the waiting hands.

BLAST!

“We cannot allow you to destroy the universe,” Luke and Nick spoke in union as their eyes began to glow.

“Ugh…the Watchers,” she rolled her eyes and with a flash of action grasped Alexys by the top of her head and pulled her backward so that her neck was exposed to the blade of a black-clad citizen. Shouts of discord and pleading for her safety stopped any continual action. Missy motioned toward the throbbing veins, “You know, I gave clear instructions that the both of you should be dead before I got here. How anyone could mistake the humans for you two is beyond me. I digress…any sudden movements and Alexys dies. Understood?”

They said nothing.

“It is time to say goodbye to my dearest friend.”

From the position Alex and Alexys were in they could see exactly what Missy did. She placed the velvet bags on the table then one by one removed the fob watches until they were in a row beside each other. She smiled happily at the sight of them with giddy fingers eager to touch. Her eyes swelled with madness as she picked up the first one and caressed the outside of it with longing.

Click.

“What?”

She dropped it onto the ground then hurriedly picked up the next.

Click.

“No!”

She picked up the next then dropped it once again.

Click.

“What is the meaning of this!”

It fell between her trembling fingers.

Click.

“Impossible!”

She threw the last one onto the ground.

Tiny pieces of paper flew from the empty watches. Missy screamed in so much anger the Greendale collapsed to the ground incapacitated. Alexys ran to Alex as they watched the melt down and four tiny pieces of paper floated toward them in the wind of her stomping. Each one held a separate word but all together it read: “Think of something clever.”

_WHHHHHHHHZZZZZ._

The four men pointed their screwdrivers to Missy with a satisfied smirk, “We couldn’t agree on what to write so we all just did something different.”

“You told me you would write something clever,” the Eleventh Doctor looked to the others with confusion.

The looked to each other with a laugh, “We did!”

Their screwdrivers lowered to the fob watches on the stage and as they did each one began to rumble until four beams of pure light shot into a point above Missy. In a second a barely visible pyramid was formed around her which effectively trapped her in place. She screamed as she punched at the walls but it did nothing. The Doctors stepped forward and looked to River and Clara and Rose with appreciation.

Clara let out a heavy sigh, “You have no idea how _hard_ it was to stay quiet during all of that.”

“Wait!” Alex shouted, “You were all you the whole time?”

Alexys walked up to the Ninth Doctor, “Hello, my lo—”

She smacked him hard across the face.

“What was that for? This was all your idea!”

“You lied to me! You made me think you were someone else!” she cried.

“You didn’t seem to mind,” he motioned toward Nick. 

Alex motioned to the prism that held Missy in place, “What is that?”

“Force field,” the Twelfth Doctor smirked, “Well…a bit more than a force field.”

“It’s also a transport,” the Tenth Doctor continued, “We have a safe place secure for her that will make sure not even a crack can get through.”

“The impregnable prison of Area 51 that is rumored to hold the Doctor still to this very day,” the Eleventh Doctor smirked.

“All we need to do is,” the Ninth Doctor pointed his screwdriver toward Missy and the other Doctors followed suit.

“You can send me away but consider this. Why hasn’t the sign translated itself just yet?” she pointed to the sign that read Dårlig Ulvkammer, “Realize that I am simply the source. The Beast is still among yo—!”

ZAAAAAAAAPPPP!

“Enough of that talking now,” the Ninth Doctor smiled happily.

“Doctor?” Clara looked to the Twelfth Doctor with a puzzled expression, “If Missy isn’t the Beast…who is?”

Professor Wardwell emerged from the stage with a last bit of energy and the gunstick Nick had dropped before. She aimed the weapon at Rose Tyler as she screamed, “SHE IS!”

POW!

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

River and Clara shot at Professor Wardwell who fell backward into the crack.

The Doctors rushed to push Rose out of the way of the Dalek blast but it was too late.

Luke and Nick worked to pull Alex and Alexys out of the line of fire.

Rose Tyler stared in absolute horror.

And then she began to glow.

A brilliant light surrounded her and pushed everyone and everything away in an instant. Alex and Alexys looked away from the blinding light as Luke and Nick covered them from the glow. All they could see were the tendrils of brilliance that surrounded her and seeped into the air.

A haunting voice spoke, “I create myself. I protect myself. I am the Bad Wolf.”

“Ro—”

All Alex and Alexys could see was a blast of radiating light emerge from the center of Rose’s chest and straight into the Moment.

“No!”

“The Moment! It’s drawing upon Rose’s connection to it to activate!” the Eleventh Doctor shouted, “We need to stop it before consumes the energy of the Time Vortex and her consciousness!”

Luke and Nick looked to Alex and Alexys for one fleeting moment before bursting into their cloud of light and color. Their cloud flew before the Moment and seemed to solidify as if a barrier between the Time Vortex energy and the device that was known to end all things. The light from Rose ricocheted off of Luke and Nick and flew directly into the crack.

“Look at me, Rose!”

The Tenth Doctor looked to Rose Tyler and held onto her face. He looked to her with genuine love and adoration before pressing his lips to the beautiful woman’s mouth just as he had done in his previous incarnation before. The energy swam into him but this time the other Doctors placed their hands onto his shoulders and the light leaked out of Rose Tyler and evenly into all the Doctors until there was nothing left and she collapsed into the Tenth Doctor’s arms.

The crack blew in all direction with a wind that seemed to suck everyone toward it. The Greendale citizens began to rise in their unconsciousness toward the crack but before they could fall into it Clara jumped upward and threw the Moment inside of it. The crack sealed at once.

Everyone looked to Clara who remained breathless, “What! Complicated space-time event!”

Luke and Nick dropped into their physical form, clearly exhausted.

Alex and Alexys ran to them and held onto their respective partners. River Song asked, “Is everyone alright?”

“We’re fine!”

“We did it,” Rose let out breathlessly as she looked into the eyes of the Tenth Doctor. “We saved the universe.”


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five:

The inside of the Tardis had never looked so festive. Alex and Alexys had wondered where all the Greendale holiday decorations had gone but upon stepping into the blue box it became clear. The strange pillars of the Tenth Doctor’s Tardis were wrapped in lights, every shelf on the center console had become a perch for snowmen, elves, and eclectic menorahs, the top deck had inflatable holiday images that smiled. Best of all, the ground was covered in a white carpet that gave off the impression of snow.

Alex and Alexys held onto each other as each Doctor pulled seats from somewhere deeper in the Tardis. Promises for explanations of what had happened hung on the lips of everyone while the two waited. The smell of hot cocoa and tea hung in the air from somewhere deep inside the blue box.

The Tenth Doctor emerged with warm blankets for everyone to wrap themselves around in along with festive cheer to wear, “Alright, I suppose we do owe you an explanation.”

“I believe we can do the honors,” Luke and Nick spoke together.

They had not left Alex and Alexys’ side and so with great care they placed their hands against the head of their partner. Light emerged but somehow they knew it was behind their eyes inside of before them. A strange tingling arrived at the temples and then…it all became clear.

_“My atten…” the Doctor’s eyes grew to the shape of grapefruits as he glared behind them. The two moved to look but he grasped their shoulders, “Look at me. Just look at me. This is wrong…this is very, very wrong. Just keep looking at me. Just don’t sto—”_

_“Doctor.”_

_Alexys was the one to deny the Doctor._

_Her head turned toward the voice she feared more than any other in the universe. The wind was knocked out of her so quickly she felt as if the air had been removed from the atmosphere. Her arm lashed out for Alex and when he found it she began to crumbl—_

_“Balloons!”_

_Alexys looked to the Doctor with absolute confusion, “Balloons? What about balloons?”_

_“Just as I thought. I need you two to follow me as if you were Orpheus.”_

_“What does that mean?” Alexys wondered._

_“It means don’t look back!” Alex shouted as he grabbed onto her arm and pulled her forward._

_Together they ran with the speed of a person being chased by a wild dog. It wasn’t until they made it to the end of the street that they paused. The Tenth Doctor breathlessly looked to his companions, “Why are we— Oh? Is that…Is that you two? With…Well, don’t you both look brilliant!”_

_They turned their head and found that it was indeed them in a school parking lot. Their mouths dropped at the sight of themselves. It was as if they had become royalty!_

_“Is that?” Alex leaned forward to get a better look._

_“Oh my God! Can I go say ‘hi’ to myself?” Alexys wondered._

_“Absolutely not. Something is very odd here. We must return to the Tardis at onc…That thing I said before…about Orpheus?” The Tenth Doctor pondered, staring at the empty space between their shoulders._

_“Yeah?” Alex raised a curious brow._

_“Let’s keep at it, yeah?”_

_He turned around in full sprint and they followed._

_From somewhere in his pocket he pulled what looked like a cell phone out and began to shout in it, “Ah, Rose?...Yeah, wonderful. Glad you two are getting on…I’ll need to speak with Clara a moment if you don’t mind…I’m sure she’s the one that can help…Oh, not running just…exercising and all...Clara, yes, now you mentioned you can fly the Tardis? Would you do me the honors and…”_

_OOF._

_The Doctor ran smack into the blue box._

_The door opened to reveal Rose, “Are you alright? What is it? What’s wro—WHAT IS THAT?”_

_“What is wha—?” The Doctor looked behind then grabbed Alex and Alexys and pulled them onto the Tardis before shutting the doors behind them. “Clara, fire her up will you? Let’s get out of here!”_

_“Aye, aye Captain!” Clara began to get the Tardis in motion but a terrifying sound halted the motion._

_The Doctor ran to the console, moving Clara aside so that he could take control of the ship himself, “What have you done? She doesn’t make that noise!”_

_“I-I did nothing. There’s something wrong. We can’t leave,” Clara tried to explain._

_“Humans can never get it rig—”_

_The Tardis made the same sick sound that kept it planted._

_“What is going o—”_

_“Doctor!” Rose shouted, pointing toward the door._

_Everyone turned around and screamed as they ran backward away from the group of creatures stepping onto the ramp of the Tardis. Alexys stared in absolute horror, unable to catch her breath as she watched the living manifestation of something that had haunted her dreams since she had seen it the first time. Alex grabbed her arm to pull her back but after a few steps terror petrified her muscles into place._

_“Alexys!” Alex shouted her name as he used his strength to pull her. When that did not work he shouted, “Chidi Anagonye!”_

_She snapped her head around with a smirk, “What about Chidi?”_

_“Uh…he wants you to follow me right now with your back to the door,” Alex tried to speak as calmly as he possibly could to get her to avoid looking at the creatures while also getting her to move._

_Alexys followed him, already beginning to shake with understanding that there was something she specifically could not look at. She swallowed hard as she gazed at the Doctor, Rose Tyler, and Clara Oswald with their eyes the size of saucers. Her hand found Alex’s shoulder as they all made it to the center of the console._

_“What do we do now, Doctor?” Clara asked._

_“I believe it is best if we RUN!”_

_They all worked into a sprint to the labyrinth that was the Tardis. Every time they got far enough away they would pause and ask what the running was about. Alex and Alexys—familiar with what could make them run in fear then forget why they ran in fear—would continue to shout, “Orpheus!” so that everyone would keep up the sprint. It wasn’t until they made it to the library that they all took refuge and shut the door behind them._

_The Doctor began to pull books off the shelf in search of what the creature could be._

_“Don’t bother!” Alex yelled, “We know what they are.”_

_The Doctor paused to look at them, “You do?”_

_“Clara, you’ve come across them too,” Alexys was breathless, “Creatures that you can’t remember facing once you turn away? They were on Trenzalore fighting with the Doctor before they went rogue.”_

_“Trenzalore,” the Tenth Doctor got a faraway look in his eye, “How do you know about Trenzalore?”_

_“That isn’t the issue right now. The issue is that these creatures are hard to beat because they make you specifically forget you have seen them once you have turned away. We need a way to mark ourselves after we’ve seen one,” Alex suggested._

_“Here,” the Doctor pulled markers from a table and handed them to each person._

_“What are we just supposed to ma—”_

_“Rose,” Clara gasped._

_“What is it?” she was shaking._

_Alex and Alexys swallowed hard as they looked upon the woman, “You have…you have markings on your…”_

_It was true. On her face and neck there were hurried markings that looked fresh. She pointed to Clara, “Oh God! You’ve got them too!”_

_“Alex!” she pointed toward him and Alexys cried out at the sight of them._

_“Doctor!” she pointed to him but stopped at the sight of her own hand covered in lines. Her fingers shook as she turned around and let out a blood curling scream._

_VWORP. VWORP. VWORP._

_And just like that they were in the console room of another Tardis._

_“STOP SCREAMING!” The Twelfth Doctor shouted with his hands plugging his ears._

_The Ninth Doctor ran to Alexys and wrapped his arms around her, “What is it? What happened!”_

_Alex looked to River, the Eleventh, and the Twelfth Doctor, “Silents.”_

_They rushed back to the controls of the Tardis and together navigated somewhere further away. The Tenth Doctor looked to the screen with confusion, “How are we moving? We couldn’t get off the ground.”_

_“We found that once we were in Greendale it was impossible to leave. I believe we are trapped in the fictional town until our business here is done,” River answered, pulling out her bag and beginning to look wildly through it._

_“Fictional town?” Rose Tyler questioned._

_The Doctors looked to one another and then back to their companions, “We have crossed into the Land of Fiction for quite some time now. Someone or something has brought us here.”_

_“The Land of Fiction?” Alex asked, “What does that mean?”_

_“We’ve had some experience before,” The Twelfth Doctor answered, “Each more different than the last. The Land of Fiction contains every literary character that has been written in any medium. Typically they live in peace in their own bubbles of their own worlds but once in a while someone stumbles upon this place and takes control, navigating the plains at their own will.”_

_“Someone wanted us here and someone wanted us trapped,” the Tenth Doctor looked at the golden watch in his hand, “That is what these are about.”_

_“What are they?” Clara wondered, “Some sort of Time Travel Device?”_

_“Yes,” the Tenth Doctor answered, “It would appear someone was given the blue print to Time Lord Technology and mass produced these little buggers. The only thing we need to figure out is how it wo—Oh. That’s how it works.”_

_“Give it here, what is that?” the Eleventh Doctor reached with grabby hands for the small thing like a child who’s older sibling just received the cool thing at Christmas._

_“Wait? What are you guys doing here? You’re supposed to b—”_

_“There was nothing,” River answered as she pulled out her Eye Drive, “We went and it was completely blank. Wiped off the page. We found we could not leave this quadrant and so we went to find you. Something horrifying happens here and we need to stop it.”_

_“The question is how?”_

_“I have an idea,” Alexys waved her hand lightly, “What about the Chameleon Arch?”_

_“What?”_

_“It’s clear that something is targeting the Doctor specifically. What if we used the Chameleon Arch to protect you? We could split into groups and have some of us watching over the Doctor while others look for clues?” Alexys had come to the end of her idea._

_“There is something there…” the Tenth Doctor mused._

_“The only thing,” the Eleventh Doctor began to pace in a very dramatic way, “How do we really know this is meant to get our attention?”_

_The Tenth Doctor tossed the device to the Eleventh Doctor finally, “Give it a try.”_

_“I’ll—OH! WRONG! WRONG!” the device leapt out of his hand as he stumbled back then ran behind Clara._

_“What is it? What’s so wrong with it?” Clara snapped._

_The Doctor placed it under the scanner and on the screen it began to dissect the properties, “It uses Time Lord Technology, yes, but it is not made by Time Lords. This device allows a person to go backward into their own time steam and then return to the present seamlessly. You simply go back into your own body to redo or relive whatever it is you like. The trouble with that is…”_

_On the screen appeared a single line and slowly more lines began to pull off until it looked more like an ant maze._

_“Using the device creates multiple Time Fissures, fractures in the individuals life where they originally went left but instead went back to go right. It is a Time Lord’s worst nightmare. There is no doubt this is meant to call our attention,” the Twelfth Doctor spoke with melancholy._

_“Well, if whoever is doing this is fighting dirty why not work in the same manner,” the Ninth Doctor smirked, “I say we use the Chameleon Arch as Alexys suggested but not ourselves. On one of our companions here.”_

_“That is entirely too painful,” the Twelfth Doctor looked to River, “I believe our companions are of more value to us with their memories than without.”_

_“What if we all just pretend?” Alex offered._

_“What do you mean?”_

_“What if we pretend we used the Chameleon Arch and integrate ourselves into life at Greendale? We got a glimpse of ourselves back there. That must be what we did,” Alex shrugged._

_“You saw yourselves?” River looked to them with confusion._

_“What is that then? Like a paradox?” Rose questioned._

_“Exactly, Rose Tyler,” the Tenth Doctor looked to her with a genuine smile._

_“We know who deals with paradoxes very well,” the Eleventh Doctor looked to the Twelfth ominously._

_The Doctors turned to Alex and Alexys, “We need to know everything you do.”_

_“No way!” Alex shouted._

_“Doesn’t that go against every Doctor rule in the book?” Alexys gasped._

_“There is reason we are strapped with the marvelous and wonderful—”_

_“Great and mysterious,” Alexys corrected._

_“—Watchers. We need every advantage we can have at this moment and it would take too long for you to just tell us,” the Twelfth Doctor walked over to Alex with his hands extended._

_“No way…if anyone is going through my mind it’s going to be,” he pointed to the Tenth Doctor, “Him.”_

_The Tenth Doctor looked genuinely surprised, “Alex…I’m touched.”_

_“I’ll do the honors,” the Ninth Doctor placed his hands against Alexys’ temples, “Just relax. I’ll take over from here. Just trust me, alright?”_

_“I do,” she smiled._

_The Ninth Doctor chuckled, “We already did that part.”_

_Alex and Alexys shut their eyes and in an instant it was as if all of the Doctor Who series downloaded right before their eyes. The Doctors pulled back and when they did they looked to Alex and Alexys in surprise and heart breaking sadness. The Tenth Doctor looked to Rose with longing, “Oh…Rose Tyler.”_

_“No…Doctor. You’re doing it. Don’t look at me that way,” tears pooled in her eyes._

_He smiled warmly, “You live. You live a beautiful and brilliant life.”_

_“But it’s not with you?” she cried._

_He let out a soft chuckle, “It is absolutely with me.”_

_The Ninth Doctor looked from Alexys to everyone around the room with new understanding, “I can see why you put in the special clause of regenerating.”_

_Alexys frowned as she looked to the man, “You have a long life ahead of you. I want you to enjoy every bit of it.”_

_He placed a kiss to her forehead, “So sweet and so kind.”_

_“Alexander, that brilliant mind of yours,” The Eleventh Doctor grabbed him by the face and pressed a deep kiss to his lips, “Your analysis of all that you have seen! Every detail that has not gone missed! Genius mind! Genius mind!”_

_“Have we all come to the same conclusion?” the Twelfth Doctor wondered, “That this is all the work of our dear old friend?”_

_“Yes, which leads me back to the Chameleon Arch suggestion,” the Tenth Doctor held up the golden watch, “Doesn’t this look quite similar to—”_

_“Yes, yes,” the all began speaking at once._

_Rose, Clara, and River walked toward Alex and Alexys._

_Clara shook her head, “It’s hard enough keeping up with one but four? I don’t think I can manage.”_

_“Fancy a dip in the pool then?” River smirked._

_Alex and Alexys looked to each other and then to the three stunning women before them, “Yes!”_

The images faded and when they did they were back in the holiday Tardis with their comrades. Their head swam momentarily but it faded quickly. Alex was the first to recover, “Why did we forget all that?”

“We came up with the solution that we would act as if we used the Chameleon Arch so that the Silents would think they had us without actually having us,” the Eleventh Doctor answered.

“It became clear they were after our essence and so if we gave off the impression we were not ourselves they would then give themselves away trying to follow us,” the Tenth Doctor continued.

“But what about us?” Alexys frowned.

“Your fear lead us to the decision,” the Ninth Doctor frowned, “Your inability to face them allowed us to come up with the plan that gave you and Alex free reign over the town of Greendale. The town was already here and so we worked together to tailor an existence for you both as the Spellmans and we erased your memory of what had happened while also implanting new ones to give you a healthy fear that would keep you safe.”

“We split up and crafted our own stories. The beings here are incredibly susceptible to the slightest suggestion so all we had to do was speak it into the universe and it formed around us. We decided we would live in the town as prominent members so that we were enough of a focus for the Silents that you could be free,” the Twelfth Doctor nodded.

“I took the job of sticking around and keeping an eye on everyone,” Clara smiled.

“I took the job of sticking around and keeping an eye on the town,” Rose blushed.

“And I took the job of staying in the Tardis and putting together all the pieces,” River pulled off her Eye Drive finally, “Alexys, you helped quite a lot with that.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“The necklace,” the answered.

She looked down and touched it, “What do you mean?”

“It’s a recording device. Because you never took it off we were able to follow you through everything. Thanks to the Paradox Box we were able to view the footage of everything you had gone through starting from 1941 until…well, now,” the Ninth Doctor pointed at the necklace with his screwdriver and Alexys felt a buzz at her throat, “All of our lovely ladies were given one but the most information came from that and your journal.”

“My journal!”

“You left it with Edward and he donated it to the library. I was able to get my hands on it easily,” River smirked.

“Did you know about Luke and Nick?” Alex asked suddenly.

“They were a surprise,” the Ninth Doctor spoke earnestly.

“We have been with you quietly since we first came across you. We were here during the deliberation and when we heard you would be brought into Greendale alone we knew we had to protect you,” Luke answered. “We took over as your personal guardians while doing our own investigations into the Time Fissures.”

“It was why I was so insistent on you ending your inquiries and searches. Luke and I were able to spread across the whole town to watch everything at once. I didn’t want you getting hurt so I did everything I could to stop you from being in danger,” Nick frowned, “I’m sorry for being jealous. Being physical, having emotion, it’s difficult sometimes but I only meant to protect you.”

“So you both are the real Watchers then?” The Twelfth Doctor looked to them curiously, “I knew there was something off about you.”

“Thanks,” Nick narrowed his eyes on the man.

“In a good way!” Rose blushed, “You both just always seemed to be there when things were getting incredibly dicey.”

“Our telepathic abilities allowed us to see the Silents regardless if they made themselves visible or not,” Luke explained, “We also knew how to keep them away by keeping occupied.”

“Right, right,” Alex blushed. “So what do we do now?”

“We spend some time deconstructing the narratives Missy created so the people in the Land of Fiction can live their lives. Shouldn’t take long,” the Twelfth Doctor shrugged.

“Oh, come on!” Rose looked between the faces, “It’s Christmas in the Land of Fiction! Why don’t we go enjoy it too?”

Hot cocoa and tea arrived and soon after everyone shuffled out of the Tardis onto the open street. The sky was still with stars sparkling in all directions. Alex and Alexys looked to each other and then shouted happily, “It’s snowing!”

Upon their invention snow fell from the ground in large, gentle flurries. They laughed and soon music began to play from the Tardis thanks to the Twelfth Doctor putting on a record. They all danced together, laughed together, made snow angels, and then snow men in snow that could not end. They had a snowball fight and quickly found that the Watchers used their ability to change form to their advantage. Rose and the Doctor danced together until Alex cut in and had a quiet and red faced conversation with her.

The Ninth Doctor asked Alexys for her hand once more to dance and they did. She shook her head, “I can’t believe you were you the whole time.”

“It did hurt a bit,” he frowned but it bloomed into the brightest smile, “It did help that you flirted shamelessly with me every chance you got.”

Alexys laughed, “What can I say. I know what I like.”

They looked to each other with love they shared but their smiles faltered. The Doctor was the first to speak, “There is a lot of heartbreak left for me to face.”

“There is a lot of love too,” Alexys smiled.

“He cares for you in a way I never could,” the Doctor admitted. “I suppose we always knew our time would come to an end.”

“Did you mean to give me a Time Lord ring?” Alexys wondered suddenly.

“I meant to give you a ring that would help you find your way back to me whenever you needed,” he sighed. “One more kiss?”

“Always one more,” she blushed. Their lips met in gentle parting and then he spun her in the direction of Nick’s arms. Nick caught her happily and they danced for the rest of the evening.

When they were all exhausted and shivering and the narratives deconstructed they took hold of the Neverwhen and Paradox Box into the Tardis.

“What happens now?” Alexys wondered.

“When we shut off these devices I’m afraid the timelines will correct themselves,” the Twelfth Doctor answered in a way that was meant to have false neutrality though there was sadness in his eyes.

“What does that mean?” Alexys looked between the faces of the Doctor.

“Wait…” Alex felt his heart begin to beat wildly inside of his chest. His stomach began to hurt in the way it always did when bad news was on the horizon. Alexys looked to him with confusion but he looked to her with desperation as he spoke his next words, “Does that mean…?”

“That you will forget?” the Eleventh Doctor frowned deeply. “Alexander…I am so sorry.”

“WHAT!” anger coursed through Alexys as she looked to the Ninth Doctor, “Forget? You want us to forget!”

“Not just you! All of us have to!” he snapped back.

“You’re going to forget about me,” she cried.

“Doctor? No,” Rose shook her head as he quickly moved to wrap her arms around Alex, “No, this...isn’t real. We don’t have to forget them. They don’t have to forget us? Right?”

“Rose…” the Tenth Doctor frowned, “It’s true. We must return to our proper place in the time line and the information we have now…it could destroy everything. The only reason we were able to sustain ourselves for so long here was because of the Paradox Box. Once we shut it off the universe will begin to fix itself instantly.”

“Then don’t shut it off!” Alexys cried.

“We have to,” the Twelfth Doctor looked to her with regret.

“Luke,” Alex cried as he looked up to the man. “You…I won’t forget you, right?”

“I…I will never forget you,” he spoke truthfully, “I will always be around to protect you and keep an eye on you. But while we are apart…yes. You will forget me. Nick and I have to return to the Time Vortex to find the Moment and make sure it is destroyed for good. We can’t let it get in the wrong hands.”

“No! How can you give me all of this love and then just take it away?” he cried.

“Nick, tell me he’s lying?” Alexys cried, “Please? Don’t go? You said you were different. You’re not like the other Watchers. Just stay with me? Stay human?”

“We have a duty,” he was crying too. “And you have a beautiful life you have to keep living.”

“But this is so sudden!” Alex wiped at his own face, “You can’t just give us all of this and take it away!”

“I won’t go! I’m not leaving!” Alexys cried. “Alex! We’re not lea—”

The Air B&B was unlike any Air B&B that had been rented before.

A soft snore awoke Alex and he blinked heavy eyes to realize he and Alexys had fallen asleep on the couch. A strange dream lingered on his mind but as he looked to his friend he began to forget it instantly. All he knew was that he was sad…incredibly so. He let out a yawn then moved to push Alexys’ elbow to wake her up, “Hey…we fell asleep on the couch.”

Alexys woke up with a start, “Wha— oh…I just had the weirdest dream.”

“Come on, let’s go to bed,” he was too exhausted to do anything else.

The both of them walked together to their rooms with a sense of dread they could not pinpoint. It was not uncommon to feel such sadness and not know why on the surface. The uncommonness was how it presented. Sore muscles, aching bones, truly broken heart. Alexys felt like she had been punched in the chest! Their feet felt blistered and used and they felt defeated in more ways than one.

They gave a quick wave then wandered to their rooms.

Alex shut the door behind him and turned on the fan that typically kept him cool. There was a weight. The weight rested upon his chest as his emotions ran wild in unpredictable ways. He felt concern for the sudden influx of feeling but he had been at the grips of something similar many times before. He felt a supreme loss that broke him down in more ways than he could count. He had faced much loss in his life, recently too, which made him think he was feeling what he had been able to process before. But it was different. For some reason it felt far more devastating.

He dropped onto the bed and felt sleep pull at his eyes. The man was exhausted in ways he had never known. Alex had been quite athletic in youth and so knew physical exhaustion. Recently he worked…and worked…and worked beyond what anyone else would be capable of so he understood mental exhaustion too. The issue was that he was absolutely overcome with both. It felt as if he had a mental, physical, and emotional hang over though he knew he and Alexys had simply watched Sherlock then fell asleep on the couch. He considered his medication and wondered if a side effect could make him so tired he would fall asleep fully clothed on his bed. A side effect that could make him think he remembered putting on lounge wear before sitting on the couch with Alexys.

A buzzing in his pocket got his attention. Alex reached for his phone only to find he did not have his phone. Instead a strange pocket knife emerged. The blade seemed to be stuck half in and half out just like the memories of how he had retrieved it.

“ALEX!” the voice of Alexys captured his attention.

“YES!” he called back.

“SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING…”

Alex stood from the bed and nearly tripped over a dog bone. Suddenly realization hit him along with a desperate yearning he did not recall, “WHERE’S HICKS?”

VWORP. VWORP. VWORP.

The sound could be heard from the opposite side of the house along with the distinct shout, “Oi! Is this your dog!”

Hicks’ loud bark and scampering feet could be heard running in search of them. Alex and Alexys ran into the hallway and nearly collided with each other to respond to the voice they could not believe, “Donna Noble?”

In a louder and angrier voice repeated, “OI! IS THIS YOUR DOG!”

“DONNA NOBLE! THE DOCTOR! WE REMEMBER!”

—THE END—


End file.
